This Man Patrick Ngugi Njoroge

The position of Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) governor position is one that anyone with the required qualities would not think twice about going for. This is one position that comes in handy with a lot of trappings that include high-end cars among them a Range Rover, Mercedes Benz and a VW Passat, heavy security and a lavish home in Nairobi’s Muthaiga estate.

Most of us are dreamers who wish to experience such kinds of lifestyles, but shockingly this is not the case for the current CBK governor, the one and only, Dr. Patrick Ngugi Njoroge. First of all, when he got the job, he declined all that he was being offered. He turned down the offer to live in an expansive home in Nairobi’s Muthaiga and ride in a motorcade.

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He instead chose to go and live in a communal accommodation in Nairobi’s Loresho estate with his fellow members of Opus Dei denomination (Latin for “work of God”), an institution of the Catholic church. These are members who believe that everyone is called to holiness and that ordinary life is a path to sanctity. Most of its members are lay people, with secular priests under a bishop.

In a country where appointment to public office is associated with opulence, demand for higher pay and motorcades, Dr. Njoroge’s decision to pass up a chance to live in a house on two acres comes as a shock to many.

This is not all, at the age of 54, Dr. Njoroge is very single, and despite earning Sh.3 million in his previous job at the International Monetary Fund, he disclosed that he owns no asset at all in Kenya since most of his money goes to charity.  

His style brings to public service a rare quality of humility and an aversion to trappings of power and opulence. In Kenya, the practice is that when you are appointed to high office, you demand big fuel-guzzling cars and expensive Turkish carpets.

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Since his appointment in office, he has confirmed to be a game changer in the Kenyan Financial Industry. Some have given credit to his religious mindset as being his key drive in everything that he does, thus giving him an outstanding and bulletproof credibility.

Apart from helping revive Dubai Bank, which had been put under statutory management being considered for liquidation in August last year, the shilling too started to slide and by early September the problem had weakened further. All these happened after Dr. Njoroge took over the office. The country is now looking up to him for more transformations in the Financial Sector since this is where the growth of the economy lies.

Article by Vera Shawiza.