Liar, Liar, Ngilu Screams At Kibaki as Head of State Disowns 2002 MOU

Health minister Charity Kaluki Ngilu is well known for her unpredictability but she is also known for speaking the truth and putting to shame both the devil and senior politicians allied to president Kibaki.

Last week she confirmed what the majority of Kenyans already know. That prior to the 2002 elections, Kibaki agreed with the top brass of NARC that he would serve only one term then step down to allow the late Wamalwa Kijana have a shot at the presidency.

Ngilu knows what she is talking about considering that the Narc alliance started with her, Kibaki and Wamalwa long before the others joined (including George "Goldenberg" Saitoti) ahead of the historical 2002 elections, which saw Kanu lose after ruling Kenya since independence in 1963.

Kibaki has insisted he was never involved in such an agreement and we will therefore seek re-election later this year. If he loses heavily as pundits are predicting, then one of the reasons will have to be because of his dishonesty. Sincerely, how can Kenyans trust a person who trashes an MOU and then goes on to lie about it.

Ngilu has been a thorn in the Kibaki administration ever since 2003 and has openly criticized the government she serves accusing it of tribalism, corruption and even nepotism but has never contemplated resigning and instead opted to fight from within. About the tribalism bit, in condemning it Ngilu seems to have also indulged heavily in it herself. One just needs to look at her list of appointees in the health Ministry—it reads like a who-is-who in Ukambani. Perhaps except for just one prominent non-Kamba name. That of one Tony Gachoka.

Gachoka is said to be Ngilu's secret lover and last year the pair were caught in a compromising position at the Parklands sports club car park in the back seat of Ngilu's Mercedes Benz. The poor watchman who caught the prominent couple was told off by Tony Gachoka whom it is claimed emerged from the vehicle zipping his pants and in a drunken stupor, ordering the guard to vanish and keep his mouth shut for his own good. Apparently, the guard did not keep his mouth shut and reported the matter to club authorities who withdrew Gachoka's membership for 'unacceptable behavior' to the chagrin of Ngilu who chose not to use her clout as a cabinet minister to interfere in the matter, for obvious reasons.

The two lovebirds have been so consistent with each other with Gachoka benefiting in a big way by securing a lucrative contract at the health ministry to ironically publicize an HIV/AIDS program on behalf of the government.

It was late last year that Gachoka joined ODM and toured central province with Raila Odinga in a futile bid to convince the Kikuyu to join the movement and abandon Narc-Kenya. He later declared interest to contest the Kamukunji parliamentary seat in the forthcoming elections.

If his influence on Ngilu extends to politics, it is just a matter of time before the health minister joins ODM but again, Ngilu treads cautiously on Raila's grounds and hardly trusts the maverick Lang'ata legislator.

The lady from Mbooni Machakos but who got married in Kitui has another option of forming a third force with like minded politicians like Musikari Kombo and those who will later break away from ODM after the nominations.

But being as unpredictable as they come, Ngilu could as well stay put with Kibaki and
strike a deal whereby she could be rewarded with a lot more besides a cabinet post if Narc-Kenya wins. She will however be well advised to note that history seems to suggest that its better to deal with the devil than with Kibaki when it comes to cutting pre-election deals.

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