Chris Murungaru

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Dr. Christopher Ndarathi Murungaru was born in August 19, 1954 in Nyeri, Central Kenya. He is a Kenyan politician, a Member of Parliament for Kieni Constituency in Nyeri District and a former Minister of Transport. Before being appointed Minister of Transport, he had been the Minister of National Security. He was transferred to the Ministry of Transport following revelations of the Anglo Leasing Scandal. When President Mwai Kibaki reconstituted the cabinet following a humiliating defeat in the 21 November 2005 Constitution Referendum, he was dropped from the cabinet. A close ally of Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki, he is considered by many as a political heavy weight from Kenya's Mt. Kenya region.

When the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) Government took power from Kenya African National Union (KANU) in 2003, Dr. Murungaru was named to the powerful docket of Minister of Internal Security. He was later transferred to the Ministry of Transport though a cabinet reshuffle.

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[edit] Anglo Leasing Scandal

Recently, Dr. Murungaru has been embroiled in a conflict with the British Government following cancellation of his Visa to enter the United Kingdom, due to allegations of corruption in the Anglo-Leasing scandal. He has taken the British Government to court challenging the cancellation of his Visa. He has hired prominent Kenyan lawyer Paul Muite and a group of British lawyers, Mr Rabinder Singh, a Queen's Counsel of Matrix Chambers, London, Mr Richard Stein, a senior partner in Leigh, Day and Company and Ms Tessa Hetherington, a junior counsel of Matrix to represent him.

On 23 November 2005, President Mwai Kibaki of Kenya dissolved his cabinet following a humiliating defeat on a referendum on the proposed constitution of Kenya. The president and his key allies including Dr. Murungaru were campaigning for a Yes vote on the constitution, and they lost forcing the president to reconstitute his cabinet. Many Kenyans speculated that Dr. Murungaru may not be re-appointed back to the cabinet owing to his tainted image. He is viewed by many as corrupt and arrogant, and many people have cited this could be a contributing factors to the Government's loss in the referendum.

[edit] Fallout

On 22 January 2006, John Githongo named Murungaru as one of three top politicians (with Kiraitu Murungi, former justice minister and present energy minister; and finance minister David Mwiraria) as being involved in scams worth $600M [1]. On Wednesday, 1 February 2006, Finance Minister David Mwiraria announced that he was stepping down as a minister and a member of cabinet to pave way for investigation. The news were received with joy by many Kenyans, though some saw him as a scapegoat who has been sacrificed to protect a president whose support has been waning. Meanwhile, Dr. Murungaru has remained unrepentant, claiming he has done nothing wrong.

On 16 January 2006 President Kibaki allowed anti-corruption chief Aaron Ringera to request Murungaru to declare and account for his wealth[1]. Murungaru has since moved to court to prevent the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission from investigating, saying fulfilling the commission's request would amount to self-incrimination.

Vice President Moody Awori announced on 2 February 2006 that he was not going to step down from his post despite being adversely mentioned in the Anglo Leasing Scandal. He has insisted that he is innocent, and that nothing short of due process will make him resign his post. He has criticized by many people for defending those involved in the scandal before Parliament.

[edit] Court battles

On February 17, 2006, the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACA) arraigned Dr. Murungaru in a Nairobi court charging him without failing to declare and account for his wealth. The Commission believes that Dr. Murungaru has become too rich too quickly and has been investigating the source of his wealth, especially in relation to the Anglo Leasing Scandal. He denied refusing to declare his wealth, and was released on a bond of KES 200,000. On December 1st 2006, the Kenyan High Court determined that KACA's notice to Murungaru was not carried out according the the laid down law that subsequently led to the High Court quashing KACA's case against Murungaru. The court did not however stop KACA from investigating Murungaru or anyone else for corruption but insisted that any orders issued by the Commission be done so in a legal manner. Coincidentally, the civil society in Kenya under the banner of Name and Shame Corruption Network (NASCON) held a demonstration in the streets of Nairobi to push for the resignation of more senior people in President Mwai Kibaki's administration. Key among them is civil service boss Francis Muthaura and Vice President Moody Awori.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Kibaki okays fresh graft probe on Murungaru", East Africa Standard, January 16, 2006. Retrieved on 2006-02-16.
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