Jan. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Kenya’s shilling reached the highest in four weeks as Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta resigned three days after the International Criminal Court ordered him to stand trial for inciting violence following the 2007 election.

The currency of East Africa’s biggest economy appreciated as much as 1 percent to 84.73 per dollar, the strongest since Dec 30., after the presidency office announced the resignation in an e-mailed statement from the capital, Nairobi, today. It closed at 0.6 percent higher at 85.10, from yesterday’s close in New York.

Tanzania’s shilling weakened on increased dollar demand by businesses to pay month-end bills. The currency of the second- largest East African economy depreciated as much as 0.5 percent to 1,605 per dollar and closed 0.1 percent lower at 1,598.35 in the capital Dar es Salaam.

“There is dollar demand from corporate clients to pay monthly obligations,” Eric Chijoriga, a dealer with National Bank of Commerce Ltd., ABSA Group’s Tanzanian unit said today by phone from Dar es Salaam, the commercial Capital.

Uganda’s shilling didn’t trade as it was a public holiday.

-- Editors: Peter Branton, Linda Shen

To contact the reporter on this story: Johnstone Ole Turana in Nairobi at jturana@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin at asguazzin@bloomberg.net