A Kenyan minister barred from Britain because of his ?character, conduct and associations? has begun a legal campaign to clear his name in a row stirring up relations between Nairobi and its old colonial master. Aides for Transport Minister Chris Murungaru said yesterday that lawyers hired in London on behalf of the Kenyan ? a close ally of President Mwai Kibaki ? had written to Britain?s Home Office formally demanding his visa revocation be quashed.

?They now have 14 days to respond. Unless the position is rescinded, we will be filing to the High Court,? Kenyan lawyer and legislator Paul Muite, who is coordinating the action, told Reuters. ?We have a very strong case.? The Murungaru saga, with its backdrop of UK allegations of high-level corruption in Kenya and decades-old colonial sensitivities, has convulsed local politics and brought threats of reprisals.

It has also come at a time when Western nations are putting increasing pressure on Africa to improve its governance record in exchange for foreign aid and debt relief programmes. In a Home Office letter dated July 25, London told Murungaru he was no longer welcome. British High Commission officials in Nairobi have not given precise reasons but cite immigration laws that block the arrival of individuals accused of corruption. ?Your presence would not be conducive to the public good in the light of your character, conduct and associations,? the letter said. Murungaru has denied the corruption implications.

After some toing-and-froing on its public position, Kibaki?s government on Friday demanded a UK apology. ?We will not accept such rudeness ... It stinks of colonialism,? Foreign Minister Chirau Makwere said, threatening retaliatory action. In Kenya, passions have run so high over the visa row that hundreds of villagers from Murungaru?s area invaded a white-owned farm last week to torch some land in protest. A senior Murungaru aide, Douglas Kaunda, said the minister was sure he would be vindicated in British courts.

Weary of graft but also sometimes resentful of British intervention, Kenyans have mixed feelings on the visa saga. ?When I heard it on the news, I thought he was dealing in illegal business and that?s why he was thrown out,? said an unsympathetic Nairobi college student Wendy Karanja.

Andrew CAWTHORNE