PROFILE : KENYA'S CONTROVERSIAL MINISTER !

By Noel Mwakugu BBC News, Nairobi.

Health Minister Charity Ngilu has always been one of Kenya's most controversial politicians and last week became the first minister to be arrested under President Mwai Kibaki.
Charity Ngilu spent 10 hours in police custody. Nevertheless, she might still play a crucial role in December's elections.
She entered politics to fight for multi-party democracy in the early 1990s and was a bold critic of former President Daniel arap Moi.
Despite being a member of the coalition government, Mrs Ngilu, 55, has accused it of failing the Kenyan people, and losing sight of its original vision for the country.
She once described the government as a bunch of looters who do not have the people's interests at heart, and called on the electorate to vote them out in elections due later this year.
Ahead of the times
When she stormed the central police station last week, dramatically freeing a women's rights activist who had been arrested for protesting against a proposed pay-off for Kenyan MPs, many said Mrs Ngilu was doing what she does best - defending the weak.
Why should I quit the government? We must continue fighting for justice
Charity NgiluWhen police detained Mrs Ngilu for over 10 hours over the incident, there was an outcry from opposition leaders and the public, who claimed Mrs Ngilu was the victim of political harassment.
The High Court later ruled that her arrest and detention were illegal.
Her journey in politics was inspired by the fact that women in Kenya, despite their strength in numbers, were weak and voiceless in a male-dominated society.
She resolved to abandon her position as a versatile entrepreneur with interests in bakery and plastic manufacturing, to contest, and win, a parliamentary seat in 1992, when multi-party politics were introduced to Kenya.
But Mrs Ngilu had only just started.
In 1997, she went down in the country's history as the first woman to seek the presidency and in a packed field of male contenders, Mrs Ngilu managed an impressive fourth position, thanks to her rare bold nature.
After this achievement, she was nicknamed "mama masaa", meaning ahead of the times, coined from her party's symbol, the clock.
Combative
In 2002, Mrs Ngilu was one of the founders of the National Rainbow Coalition (Narc), which ended 40 years of rule by President Moi's Kanu party and formed a government of national unity.
She was appointed the party's first chairperson, a position she holds to this day.
Her position as health minister has not reigned in her fiery and combative nature.
Mrs Ngilu, a widow and mother of three, has been steadfast in defending the rights of women and calling the government to task over what she terms poor leadership.
Those close to her say her childhood on a poor farm in the eastern Makueni district had a great impact on her and influences many of her actions, particularly her fight for justice and equality.
After last week's escapade with the police she has dared President Kibaki to come clean over her humiliation and intimidation and declared that she will not resign as minister.
"Why should I quit the government? We must continue fighting for justice," a defiant Mrs Ngilu said after being released from police custody.
She blamed her ordeal on Security Minister John Michuki, with whom she has had differences, and accused him of turning the country into a police state.
Mr Michuki has not responded to these claims.
Her refusal to be relegated to second-class status has won her admirers and detractors alike.
"[She] is shaping up as a sharp negotiator in the labyrinth of Kenyan politics," wrote Lucy Oriang, a leading columnist in the country's best-selling Daily Nation newspaper.
As Kenya's volatile and fluid politics takes shape ahead of the December general election, all eyes are on the health minister.
There are claims that some "forces" are trying to wrest control of the crumbling Narc from Mrs Ngilu, presumably to pass on the party leadership to Mr Kibaki to give him a platform to seek re-election.
She has not declared her interest in running for the presidency a second time but could deliver a considerable number of votes to whichever candidate she backs, possibly swinging the vote in their favour.

BBC NEWS REPORT.