Two of President Kibaki's closest allies travelled to Britain for a
secret meeting with exiled Permanent Secretary John Githongo to try and
persuade him not to reveal secrets of corruption in government,
according to an explosive new book to be serialised in the Daily Nation
starting Tuesday.
The meeting, at an Oxford restaurant, nearly ended in blows, after the
emissaries warned Mr Githongo: If you reveal what you know, your
grandchildren will never forgive you, an insinuation that if Mr
Githongo made public government secrets, there might be no
grandchildren.
It was one in a series of death threats Mr Githongo said he received
from top government officials to dissuade him from pursuing the Anglo
Leasing scandal in which the government contracted phantom companies.
The Oxford meeting was timed to fend off revelations before the 2005
referendum. In any event, Mr Githongo revealed nothing but the
government lost.
The book, It's our turn to eat: The story of a Kenyan whistleblower, is
written by British journalist and award-winning author Michela Wrong
and is a dramatic account of Mr Githongo's controversial tenure as
Permanent Secretary for Ethics and Governance and senior aide to
President Kibaki.
Ms Wrong had a unique, ringside view of the Githongo drama as it
unfolded: It was in her London flat that he first hid after he fled
while on a tour of Europe and on her computer that he typed his
resignation.
Mr Githongo speaks candidly in the book of his admiration for President
Kibaki and his crushing disappointment at what he saw as Mr Kibaki's
lack of commitment to the fight against corruption.
For the first time, Mr Githongo reveals to the author details of life
inside State House during the anxious early Narc days after, the book
says, the President suffered a stroke.
Former British High Commissioner Edward Clay is quoted as saying of Mr
Kibaki's state of health at that time: He had a genuine problem
carrying on a train of thought from one meeting to another. I didn't
think he was himself again until early 2004.
Story of escape
Mr Githongo resigned while on official business in Europe in February
2004 and went into hiding in London for a while, fearing for his life.
He later got a job at St Antony College, Oxford.
The book tells the full story of his escape and how he was hunted down
in London by people he believed to be Kenyan security officers.
Mr Githongo was, until his appointment as Mr Kibaki's anti-corruption
adviser, the director of the Kenya chapter of Transparency
International, an anti-corruption organisation. He also wrote a column
for The East African, a publication of the Nation Media Group.
After his resignation, he wrote a memorandum to Mr Kibaki, in which he
revealed corruption in security contracting and accused some of the
President's closest allies of either being complicit or trying to cover
up. The memorandum, popularly known as the Githongo Dossier, was widely
quoted in the media and on the Internet.
According to the dossier, the government had given contracts amounting to almost Sh20 billion to companies which did not exist.
As a result, the Finance minister at the time, Mr David Mwiraria
resigned and National Security minister Chris Murungaru and Kiraitu
Murungi, the minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs were
removed.
Dr Murungaru and Mr Mwiraria lost their seats at the last election but
Mr Murungi was returned and re-appointed to the less glamorous ministry
of Energy.
Though Mr Githongo had tapes of recorded conversations, the former
ministers protested their innocence and accused him of releasing
little, out-of-context bits.
But arising from Mr Githongo's revelations, senior government
officials, among them former Treasury Permanent Secretary Joseph Magari
were sacked and prosecuted.
The cases have made little progress in the courts and there have been no convictions.
The Anglo Leasing scandals involved phantom companies which the
government pretended to be borrowing money from. Instead, it paid large
sums of money in advances which the phony companies used to service the
contracts. Sometimes no goods were delivered and when they were, the
cost was likely exaggerated.
Examples of irregular contracts included a project to issue new
passports, another to build a forensic laboratory for the police and
the purchase of a warship for the Kenya Navy. None of these projects
was ever completed.
Foreign countries
They were paid for using irrevocable promissory notes, which is debt
incurred in the name of the Republic, accompanied by a guarantee of
legality by the Attorney-General, which the government has no choice
but to pay.
During the Anglo Leasing investigations, the government requested the
help of foreign countries. A week ago, the British Serious Fraud Office
dropped its investigations into Anglo Leasing, accusing Kenya of having
lost interest in the case.
The book, which will be available in local bookshops from February 27, will be serialised in the Daily Nation starting Tuesday.
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