The Minister Who Knew Too Much: Christopher Mūrūngarū and the Ghosts of Anglo-Leasing

Mūrūngarū of Kieni: The Story of Kibaki’s Trusted Enforcer Turned Political Pariah

★ Christopher Ndarathi Mūrūngarū’ the all-time powerful minister of Kenya’s post-KANU era:

Born in Nyeri in 1954, Mūrūngarū rose through the ranks of the old political order and found his moment at the dawn of the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) government in 2003.

– The Kibaki administration had swept into power on a wave of popular euphoria, promising to end corruption, dismantle authoritarian excesses, and usher Kenya into a new moral and political dispensation.

– Mūrūngarū, a trusted ally of President Mwai Kibaki, and an MP for Kieni constituency, was rewarded with one of the most sensitive portfolios in government—Internal Security, position that placed him at the nerve of power.

– In early 2006. John Githongo, the former anti-corruption czar who had fled into exile, named Mūrūngarū as one of three senior figures at the heart of the Anglo-Leasing scandal—alongside Kiraitu Murungi and Finance Minister David Mwiraria. The sums involved were staggering: up to US$600 million. Kenya was forced to confront an uncomfortable truth—the architects of reform were also its greatest saboteurs.

– When President Kibaki permitted the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC) to demand an account of Mūrūngarū’s wealth, the former minister went to court, arguing that such disclosure would amount to self-incrimination.

– His legal troubles escalated in February 2006 when KACC charged him with failing to declare and account for his wealth. Though released on bond, the spectacle was unprecedented—an insider of the Kibaki administration standing in the dock. Yet, as had often happened in Kenya’s corruption cases, procedure proved more potent than substance.

– In December 2006, the High Court quashed the case on technical grounds, ruling that KACC had not followed due process. The door to investigation remained open, but the momentum was gone.

– Internationally, the scandal followed him. The British government cancelled his visa over corruption allegations, prompting Mūrūngarū to mount an aggressive legal challenge in London, hiring some of the most prominent legal minds in Kenya and the UK. It was an extraordinary move an attempt to clear his name abroad even as questions lingered at home.

– Amidst these broader corruption issues, accusations of drug trafficking links emerged.

★ Christopher Mūrūngarū’ made a failed bid for the Nyeri Senate seat in 2013. Many have concluded that the spark is gone, and as of today there is no indication of Dr Christopher Murungaru ‘s comeback in politics.