Charity Kaluki Ngilu

Charity Kaluki Ngilu is a trailblazing Kenyan politician, business executive, and leader of the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) party who made history in 1997 as one of Kenya’s first female presidential candidates. Over a multi-decade career, she served as a long-standing Member of Parliament for Kitui Central and held influential national cabinet portfolios, including Minister for Health, where she pioneered free anti-retroviral drugs for HIV/AIDS patients; Minister for Water; and Cabinet Secretary for Lands. In 2017, she cemented her legacy by becoming one of the first three women elected as a county governor in Kenya, serving Kitui County until 2022. Known for her grassroots mobilization and fierce advocacy for women's empowerment, she remains an active, influential strategist within the national opposition alliance.