Kenya: “If that were the case, she would not have been cleared through a rigorous vetting where MPs from both Jubilee and CORD alliances participated,” he told The Standard On Sunday.
Ngilu, maintains Duale, is a performer “who has dedicated her energy to clear the mess that Orengo left”.
However, not everybody is in agreement. Noting that the Constitution requires of Cabinet Secretaries to keep off politics, Yatta MP Francis Mwangangi faults Ngilu for fronting land reforms selectively.
“Ngilu can surely do better by fixing the problem squarely instead of addressing the matter through the media and therefore appearing to be playing politics,” he says.
Pointing out that Ngilu has previously elected to serve political interests of the powers-that-be rather than the public interest, Mwangangi observes that the CS has focused only on the alleged ills executed by CORD allied politicians.
And reflecting on past instances, including when she had a tiff with the late Cabinet colleague, John Michuki, Oloo claims that Ngilu is a “Mrs fix-it” rabble rouser.
“Unlike (Mining Cabinet Secretary, Najib) Balala and (Labour Cabinet Secretary, Kazungu) Kambi, Charity Ngilu knows how to play politics with her ministerial position and it is clear she has been deliberately positioned to play that role for Jubilee,” says Oloo, Head of Political Science and Public Administration department, University of Nairobi.
Two decades
Indeed, Ngilu has had a colourful but slippery political career spanning over two decades. Except for a ten year stint in Opposition, the former Kitui Central MP has charmed her way into government.
Some of her moves, including eleventh hour defections, have been dramatic. In October 2007, for instance, she caused a stir at Uhuru Park when she drove to the venue in her official car to attend an ODM rally. Kibaki immediately relieved her of her ministerial duties ostensibly for throwing her weight Raila’s presidential candidature.
In December 2012, after keeping everyone guessing about her political destiny, she made a triumphant entry into Nairobi’s KICC where the Coalition for Reform and Democracy was unveiled.
She was cheered wildly, but a couple of days later, she decamped to Uhuru’s Jubilee coalition.
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