What You Need to Know About Kamau Thugge, CBK’s Next Boss

Dr. Kamau Thugge was born in 1960 in Nyeri County

He attended the University of Nairobi, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics in 1982.

He then went on to earn a Master of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1984 and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley in 1990.

Thugge worked as an economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from 1990 to 1997.

He then returned to Kenya to work as an economist at the Ministry of Finance from 1997 to 2002.

He previously worked in the Finance ministry as head of the fiscal and monetary affairs department apart from serving in other senior positions such as senior economic adviser and economic secretary.

In 2002, he was appointed as the Director of Economic Affairs at the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA).

He served in this position until 2007, when he was appointed as the Principal Secretary of the National Treasury.

In 2013, he was appointed as the Chair of the National Economic and Social Council (NESC).

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He served as the Treasury PS between 2013 and 2019 before being forced out after being implicated in the Arror and Kimwarer dam scandal.

Thugge moved from a key suspect to a State witness in the Kimwarer and Arror dams’ scandal before being appointed as an economic adviser of President William Ruto.

If cleared by Parliament, he will become Central Bank of Kenya (CBK’s) tenth governor.

As the CBK governor, Thugge will oversee monetary policy and financial stability in Kenya. He will work to bring down the cost of living, ensure the success of the interbank forex market, and maintain healthy relationships with banks.

Thugge’s vision likely includes promoting economic growth, implementing effective fiscal policies, and addressing challenges such as high inflation and the weakening shilling.