23 Facts About Charity Ngilu

Charity Kaluki Ngilu was born on 28 January 1952 and is a Kenyan politician and the second governor elected for Kitui County.

Charity Ngilu unsuccessfully vied to be President of the Republic of Kenya in 1997.

Charity Ngilu served as Minister for Health from 2003 until 2007 and Minister of Water and Irrigation from April 2008 to 2013.

Charity Ngilu served as Cabinet Secretary for Land, Housing and Urban Development from 2013 until 2015.

Charity Ngilu attended Alliance Girls High School, then joined Government Secretarial College, Kianda College, and the Kenya Institute of Administration for Commerce to receive management and secretarial skills.

Charity Ngilu started as a secretary before becoming a prosperous businesswoman in the plastics and bakery industries.

Charity Ngilu was elected to represent the Kitui central constituency seat in 1992 on a Democratic Party ticket.

Charity Ngilu was reelected to the same seat and ran for president in the 1997 general election on a Social Democratic Party of Kenya ticket, finishing fifth behind the eventual winner, Daniel arap Moi.

Charity Ngilu was seen as a new school member in the government, as opposed to old school members like John Michuki and President Kibaki.

On 5 October 2007, Charity Ngilu announced her support for the Orange Democratic Movement and its presidential candidate, Raila Odinga, in the December 2007 general election; she has compared Odinga to Nelson Mandela.

Charity Ngilu initially said that she was remaining in the government, despite backing Kibaki's main rival.

Charity Ngilu was re-elected to her seat from Kitui Central in the December 2007 parliamentary election.

The crisis was eventually resolved with a power-sharing agreement, and in the grand coalition Cabinet named on 13 April 2008 and sworn in on 17 April, Charity Ngilu was appointed as Minister of Water and Irrigation.

Charity Ngilu showed support for Raila Odinga in running for presidential bid in Kenyan elections 2013.

Charity Ngilu later launched a presidential bid through her Narc Political Party, ultimately choosing to run for Kitui County senator and losing to David Musila in the process.

Charity Ngilu ran for governor of Kitui County in the 2017 general election, beating incumbent Julius Malombe and becoming one of three elected women governors.

The directive according to Charity Ngilu was in the interest of environment protection in the county.

Charity Ngilu's move attracted defence from leaders in the lower eastern region of Kenya, known as Ukambani.

Charity Ngilu secured a court order barring the police from arresting her over the charcoal row.

In December 2018, Charity Ngilu was accused of delaying the release of salaries to members of the County Assembly.

Charity Ngilu accused the assembly of unduly delaying the passing of a supplementary budget until May 2020 with one month remaining to the end of the financial year.

The rejection arose after what Charity Ngilu considered an unjustified delay that she blamed on the Assembly Speaker Mr George Ndoto.

Charity Ngilu went on to blame the rejection of her nominees on what she considered interference in local politics by Kalonzo Musyoka, the Wiper Democratic Party leader.