Kenya's central bank chief appeals abuse-of-office charge

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya's central bank chief filed an appeal on Tuesday asking a court to throw out a case accusing him of abusing his office through his involvement in issuing a tender to install security software at the bank. Earlier this month, Kenya's High Court ruled the government's anti-graft agency and chief prosecutor could pursue the case against Central Bank Governor Njuguna Ndung'u. Ndung'u has denied involvement in the case, saying he was not involved in the tender process and the tender was awarded by an authorised body. In the appeal court filing on Tuesday, Ndung'u's lawyer Donald Kipkorir said the charges lacked a legal or factual basis. "The judgment is completely erroneous," Kipkorir said in court papers seen by Reuters. Ndung'u, who became central bank governor in 2007, weathered a political storm in 2012 as parliament tried to oust him over currency turmoil in 2011, when the shilling weakened sharply and inflation soared. His term runs until February 2015. (Reporting by Humphrey Malalo; Editing by Edith Honan and Andrew Roche)