John Githongo (born 1965) is a former
KenyaThe Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa. Lying along the Indian Ocean, at the equator, Kenya is bordered by Ethiopia , Somalia , Tanzania , Uganda plus Lake Victoria , and Sudan . The capital city is Nairobi. Kenya spans an area about 85% the size of France or Texas...
n
journalistJournalism is the craft of conveying news, descriptive material and comment via a widening spectrum of media. These include newspapers, magazines, radio and television, the internet and even, more recently, the mobile phone...
who investigated bribery and fraud in his home country and later, under the presidency of
Mwai KibakiMwai Kibaki is a Kenyan politician and the third President of Kenya.Kibaki was previously Vice President . He also held several other cabinet positions, including a widely acclaimed stint as Minister for Finance , Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Health .He then served as an opposition...
, took on an official governmental position to fight
corruptionPolitical corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
. In 2005 he left that position, later accusing top ministers of large-scale fraud.
His father Joe Githongo owned an accounting firm, President
Jomo KenyattaJomo Kenyatta[pron.] served as the first Prime Minister and President of Kenya.He was succeeded by Daniel arap Moi after his death in August 1978....
being one of its clients . John Githongo went to the prestigious
St. Mary's SchoolSt. Mary's School is a day school owned by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Nairobi. It was founded in the Parklands area of Nairobi in 1939 and was long run by Holy Ghost Fathers from Blackrock College in Dublin in Ireland.-History:...
in Nairobi.
John Githongo (born 1965) is a former
KenyaThe Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa. Lying along the Indian Ocean, at the equator, Kenya is bordered by Ethiopia , Somalia , Tanzania , Uganda plus Lake Victoria , and Sudan . The capital city is Nairobi. Kenya spans an area about 85% the size of France or Texas...
n
journalistJournalism is the craft of conveying news, descriptive material and comment via a widening spectrum of media. These include newspapers, magazines, radio and television, the internet and even, more recently, the mobile phone...
who investigated bribery and fraud in his home country and later, under the presidency of
Mwai KibakiMwai Kibaki is a Kenyan politician and the third President of Kenya.Kibaki was previously Vice President . He also held several other cabinet positions, including a widely acclaimed stint as Minister for Finance , Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Health .He then served as an opposition...
, took on an official governmental position to fight
corruptionPolitical corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
. In 2005 he left that position, later accusing top ministers of large-scale fraud.
His father Joe Githongo owned an accounting firm, President
Jomo KenyattaJomo Kenyatta[pron.] served as the first Prime Minister and President of Kenya.He was succeeded by Daniel arap Moi after his death in August 1978....
being one of its clients . John Githongo went to the prestigious
St. Mary's SchoolSt. Mary's School is a day school owned by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Nairobi. It was founded in the Parklands area of Nairobi in 1939 and was long run by Holy Ghost Fathers from Blackrock College in Dublin in Ireland.-History:...
in Nairobi. He studied law at the University of Nairobi and graduated in the mid 90's . He studied Economics and Philosophy at the
University of WalesThe University of Wales is a confederal university founded in 1893. It has accredited institutions throughout Wales, ranging from nineteenth-century establishments like Aberystwyth and Bangor to post-1992 universities like Newport and institutes of higher education such as UWIC and Glyndŵr...
before returning to his native Kenya. He briefly worked as a management consultant and researcher before moving into journalism. In this role he wrote extensively for the
NairobiNairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi Province. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters"...
-based
EastAfricanThe EastAfrican is a weekly newspaper published in Kenya by the Nation Media Group, which also publishes Kenya's national Daily Nation. The EastAfrican is circulated in Kenya and the other countries of East Africa including Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda...
attacking corruption throughout Kenyan society under the
MoiDaniel Toroitich arap Moi was the President of Kenya from 1978 until 2002.Daniel arap Moi is popularly known to Kenyans as 'Nyayo', a Swahili word for 'footsteps'...
regime.
SAREAT
In 1998, political scientist Mutahi Ngunyi's NGO - Series for Alternative Research in East Africa (SAREAT) engaged Githongo to edit a regional political economy magazine, East African Alternatives. The magazine folded after an audit instigated by the lead donor
Ford FoundationThe Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
found suspected misappropriation and collusion on the part of Ngunyi, who was executive director of SAREAT and Dr
Jonathan MoyoJonathan Nathaniel Moyo is a controversial political figure in Zimbabwe. He was Minister of Information from 2000 to 2005 and is currently a Member of Parliament. He is considered the core architect of AIPPA and POSA....
, who was the programme officer at the Ford Foundation in charge of disbursing the resources to the NGO. They have both been sued and the matter is still in court. It is known that the Ford Foundation has accepted Githongo's offer to be a prosecution witness in the case.
In 1999 he founded and subsequently ran the Kenyan chapter of
Transparency InternationalTransparency International is an international non-governmental organization addressing corruption . This includes, but is not limited to, political corruption. It is widely known for producing its annual Corruptions Perceptions Index , a comparative listing of corruption worldwide. The...
, a non-governmental agency devoted to fighting corruption he had already been working with for some years.
Anglo Leasing
In January 2003 he was appointed to the position of Permanent Secretary for Governance and Ethics by the incoming president Kibaki, who had been elected on an anti-corruption platform. He resigned from his position on February 7 2005 without comment, though it was reported that he felt the government lacked commitment to ending corruption and that he had received death threats. As a result of his resignation international aid to Kenya was cut. He remains a powerful advocate against corruption.
On 22 January 2006, Githongo named Vice-President
Moody AworiArthur Moody Awori , known as "Uncle Moody", was the 9th Vice President of Kenya from 25 September 2003 to 9 January 2008.-Politics:Awori was born in Butere...
as one of four top politicians (with
Kiraitu MurungiKiraitu Murungi is a Kenyan politician. He has been accused of involvement in the Anglo Leasing Scandal.-Education:Murungi was born in Meru. He attended Chuka High School and Alliance High School, then proceeded to the University of Nairobi and graduated as a Bachelor of Laws in 1977 and as a...
, former justice minister and present energy minister; finance minister
David MwirariaDavid Mwiraria was the Minister for Environment and Natural Resources previously Finance Minister of Kenya until December 2007 when Kenya held its General Elections...
and former transport minister
Chris MurungaruDr Christopher Ndarathi "Chris" Murungaru is a Kenyan politician, a former Member of Parliament for Kieni Constituency in Nyeri District and a former Minister of Transport....
) as being involved in scams worth $600m – known as the Anglo Leasing scandal. He also claimed that President Kibaki was complicit in the affair. The scandal centred around the award of a huge contract given to Anglo-Leasing – a company that did not exist. Githongo claimed that the money raised would have funded the government's forthcoming election campaign. These allegations were denied by Awori and Murungaru and an investigation was promised.
Exile
Githongo moved to the
UKThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
to live in
exileExile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened by prison or death upon return...
after claiming that there have been threats to his life, but is considering returning to Kenya to testify to the corruption committee. He took up a post at an Oxford college (Senior Associate Member of St Antony's College). It has also been recently revealed that he taken up an additional position as a Visiting Fellow of the Ottawa-based International Development Research Centre. In an interview with
Fergal KeaneFergal Patrick Keane OBE is an Irish writer and broadcaster. For many years, Keane was the BBC's correspondent in Southern Africa. He is the nephew of Irish author John B. Keane....
for the
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
's
NewsnightNewsnight is a BBC Television current affairs programme noted for its in-depth analysis and often robust cross-examination of senior politicians. Jeremy Paxman has been its main presenter for almost two decades....
programme on 8 February 2006, Githongo revealed what he claims is taped evidence proving that
Kiraitu MurungiKiraitu Murungi is a Kenyan politician. He has been accused of involvement in the Anglo Leasing Scandal.-Education:Murungi was born in Meru. He attended Chuka High School and Alliance High School, then proceeded to the University of Nairobi and graduated as a Bachelor of Laws in 1977 and as a...
attempted to impede his inquiries. Murungi suggested that a 30M Shilling loan to his father by a lawyer A.H. Malik had been bought by
Anura PereiraAnura Pereira is a Sri Lankan with Cypriot origins, frequently mentioned in association with Corruption in KenyaHe came to Kenya in the 1980s and was a defence contractor during the KANU regime....
, and might be forgiven in exchange for 'going slow' on the Anglo Leasing investigation. He reveals that at the end of his investigations, he came to the inescapeable conclusion that the Anglo Leasing scandal went all the way to the top, and as a consequence his life was in danger. Anglo Leasing, and many other similar deals, were rumored by some people to be back-door financing to pay for NARC's election bid in 2007. While in Britain, Githongo spent two days giving evidence to a delegation of Kenyan MPs who were investigating the scandal. Both parties were positive about the outcomes of the meetings.
See also
- Corruption in Kenya
Political corruption in the post-colonial government of Kenya has had a history which spans the era of the Jomo Kenyatta and Daniel arap Moi's KANU governments to the Mwai Kibaki's NARC government. In the Corruption Perceptions Index 2005 Kenya is ranked 144th out of 159 countries for corruption...
- Goldenberg scandal
The Goldenberg scandal was a political scandal where the Kenyan government was found to have subsidised exports of gold far beyond standard arrangements during the 1990s, by paying the company Goldenberg International 35% more than their foreign currency earnings...
- Anglo Leasing Scandal
- Mwai Kibaki
Mwai Kibaki is a Kenyan politician and the third President of Kenya.Kibaki was previously Vice President . He also held several other cabinet positions, including a widely acclaimed stint as Minister for Finance , Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Health .He then served as an opposition...
- David Mwiraria
David Mwiraria was the Minister for Environment and Natural Resources previously Finance Minister of Kenya until December 2007 when Kenya held its General Elections...
External links