Meet the next CBK Governor Kamau Thugge

As Dr Patrick Njoroge’s term at the helm of the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) nears its end, President William Ruto has nominated former Treasury Principal Secretary Dr Kamau Thugge as the tenth CBK Governor.

The former PS is currently a senior advisor and Head of Fiscal and Budget Policy in the president’s office. He is also a member of Ruto's Economic Council.

Until then, Thugge was embroiled in a corruption case alongside his boss, former Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich.

The economist was accused alongside Rotich of inflating a commercial loan for the construction of the Arror and Kimwarer dams in Elgeyo Marakwet County by Ksh.17 billion.

Thugge’s charges were, however, dropped by the Director of Public Prosecutions Noordin Haji in 2021, and he was made a State witness against Rotich over the scandals.

With a career cutting across finance and economic policymaking in the country and abroad, here is Dr Thugge in a snapshot:

• Prior to his PS appointment in 2013, Thugge was a Senior Economic Advisor in the Ministry of Finance from 2010
• Between 2008 and 2010, he was Deputy Division Chief at the International Monetary Fund
• He was Economic Secretary and Head of the Economic Affairs Department at Treasury between 2005 and 2008
• At the Treasury, Dr Thugge also served as Head of Fiscal and Monetary Affairs Department, (2004-2005).
• His previous stints include the IMF, where he was an Economist and later Senior Economist, (1985-2004), and at the Franklin and Marshall College in Pennsylvania, USA (1984-85).
• He is an alumnus of Lenana High School, class of 1976, and Colorado College in Colorado, USA, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics in 1980.
• He got his Master’s in Economics at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, USA, in 1982 and later graduated with a PhD in Economics from the institution in 1990.
• In his 12-page CV, Dr Thugge says he has travelled to over 18 countries.