Nairobi - Kenya's anti-corruption chief resigned on Wednesday, after a standoff between parliament and the president over his re-appointment.

Critics accuse Justice Aaron Ringera of failing to curb rampant graft in the East African nation.

President Mwai Kibaki bypassed parliament and reappointed Ringera as the director of the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC) for another five-year term at the end of August.

Parliament, however, voted that Kibaki's decision was illegal and refused to back Ringera.

Ringera said his resignation was in Kenya's best interests.

The decision to re-appoint Ringera caused widespread public anger as he has failed to bring anybody to book despite several high-level corruption scandals that cost Kenya billions of dollars.

It also drew fierce criticism from the US Ambassador to Kenya, who said reappointing Ringer called into question the government's commitment "to end the culture of impunity through decisive steps to fight corruption." (dpa)