James karugu biography

Deputy Public Prosecutor James Boro Karugu, a long-serving and loyal senior officer in the Attorney General's chambers, was the first choice of his long-serving boss, Charles Mugane Njonjo, to succeed him once he left office to enter politics and become the Member of Parliament (MP) for Kikuyu.

Njonjo did not have the powers to appoint, but as one of the most influential members of then president Daniel Moi's kitchen cabinet, and the immediate former holder of the office, it is most likely Moi appointed Karugu on Njonjo's advice.

In Karugu, Njonjo saw a man he had mentored through the ranks and a village-mate he could easily use to further his agenda. But Karugu, who died on Wednesday aged 85, was an ethical professional who would not be pushed around.

Karugu's brief sojourn at the AG's chambers would be marked by three main events: a 'shoot to kill' order decreed by his predecessor, the Frank Sund