The following is from a final paper I wrote for my International Corruption class at American University a few months ago:

It was February of 2005, and a startled Kenyan government was in the midst of an international manhunt. Police cars scoured the streets of Nairobi in the dark of night; officers knocking on doors, barking dogs in tow. The Kenyan High Commission in London had deployed its own search team. The man they were looking for: freshly resigned Permanent Secretary of Ethics and Governance, John Githongo.

Days earlier, on the morning of February 6^th, 2005, Mr. Githongo had arrived, suitcases in hand, on the front steps of a London flat owned by friend and former colleague Michela Wrong. He had snuck away from his hotel where he was staying on official business. After settling in, he told his confidant, “One of the first things I need to do is resign”.

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John Githongo was born in 1966, about three years into Kenya’s independence. His father was a prominent Kenyan who served as a Permanent Secretary in Kenya’s first President Jomo Kenyatta’s cabinet. Githongo, along with many children of Kenya’s elite, attended the prestigious St. Mary’s School. He continued his studies at the University of Wales, studying philosophy and economics. Despite his privileged upbringing, Githongo remained quite grounded to the realities facing his country.

John Githongo began his career as a correspondent for a weekly business publication called Executive Magazine. An interview with Uganda’s soon-to-be President, Yoweri Museveni, launched the young and aspiring journalist to a new post at the East African newspaper. He eventually left journalism to join his father in co-founding Transparency International’s Kenya division (TI-Kenya).

While at TI-Kenya, Githongo maintained a discreet dialogue with the up-and-coming opposition to President Moi, led by Mwai Kibaki. After Kibaki was elected, largely on an anti-corruption platform, an opportunity was afforded to John Githongo – a government post dedicated to the eradication of grand corruption. He later recalled in a BBC interview, “[It was] a feeling of great opportunity. We had a 70% majority, so we had a gigantic mandate to implement extremely radical reforms. So it was an exciting time when we thought we could achieve great things.” Prior to his appointment, Mr. Githongo met with President Kibaki and told him, “Sir, we can set up all the anti-corruption authorities we want, spend all the money we want, pass all the laws on anticorruption, but it all depends on you. If people believe the president is ‘eating’, the battle is lost. If you are steady on this thing, if the leadership is there, we will succeed.” To much public applaud, 37 year old John Githongo was appointed days later as Permanent Secretary of Ethics and Governance.

Githongo’s appointment was much to the pleasure of the international community – a symbol of stark contrast from the ghastly corrupt administration of Daniel arap Moi. BBC reporter Fergal Keane wrote of the new anti-graft czar, “From the outset Githongo impressed. Not for the quality of his rhetoric but the sheer force of his integrity. At a time when it could be dangerous to take on powerful people he was fearless.” The job, as Githongo soon found out, did certainly prove to be dangerous. Soon into his appointment, he received a tip that led him to uncover one of Kenya’s largest corruption scandals carried out by the very government with which he pledged to combat such graft.

The Anglo-Leasing Affair, as it became known, comprised of up to $600 million in government contracts to shell companies for products and services never delivered. The money, rather, was funneled back into the pockets of Kenyan politicians. As Githongo dug deeper and began asking questions, he was rebuffed by his political colleagues and was met by an apathetic President unwilling to give Githongo the tools to summon or prosecute those implicated. He began getting phone calls from Ministers and aides, some discrete and others quite blunt. He later told the BBC, “The general message was back off. Keep off. Others were more direct. Some would say, ‘Listen, what you are doing now is dangerous to your physical security.’” To ensure his safety, Githongo travelled around Nairobi with two bodyguards.

The Ethics Minister and former journalist began wearing a wire under his shirt, recording his meetings as he built his case. Many politicians and officials he met with were candid about their involvement in the Anglo Leasing scandal. Some, unknowingly being recorded, attempted to coerce Githongo into dropping his investigation. Kiraitu Murungi, the Minister of Justice, during one such meeting produced a file on John Githongo’s father about a debt owed on a failed land deal. Githongo told the BBC, “The Minister of Justice was telling me that if I ease off my inquiries, then my father’s loan matter would be made to go away. Call it blackmail, or bribery, call it what you want. But he was telling me that the message he had been sent to communicate was that I should back off.” Githongo came to realize his government appointment was for little more than show. “They had been counting on me to do nothing. People would tell me: ‘This is the way things are. It’s just the way things are done. We just have to do it with greater finesse; more carefully than the others.”

While touring Europe on official business two years into his appointment, John Githongo called two taxi’s to his London hotel. He paid one to drive off any which way, and the other to take him to the home of former colleague and confidant, Michela Wrong. That night, he carefully crafted his letter of resignation. By his side sat all of the documentation he had gathered on the Anglo-Leasing scandal.

Once his whereabouts were discovered, the Kenyan government placed a conspicuous tail on him, just to ensure that he knew that they knew where he was. The London police provided him with protection, incase his enemies decided to silence him for good. Githongo was invited by Paul Collier and Oxford University to serve as a visiting scholar – providing him a safe environment to continue his work. Later, he was appointed to serve on the global board of Transparency International as well as the board of the International Centre for Transitional Justice. Githongo also spent time writing for the Economist. In March of 2008, he was appointed Vice President of Policy and Advocacy at World Vision International.

In 2006, Githongo released a full report of his findings. The dossier was submitted to President Kibaki on November 22^nd, 2005, and was leaked to the media in February 2006. The detailed and politically damaging report presents a nearly day-by-day account of Githongo’s investigations, discussions, suspicious, and findings. The report raised strong and mixed feelings. To some, Githongo was (and is) described as a slanderous traitor having aired his country’s dirty laundry from nearly 4,000 miles away. Chris Murungaru, former Minister of National Security, went so far as to suggest Githongo may be guilty of espionage for releasing “state secrets” while in Britain.

After the report was leaked to the media, President Kibaki reshuffled his cabinet, firing three ministers implicated in the Githongo report (2 of those ministers have since been rehired). The Kenyan Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC) summoned more than 30 people in their investigation. Prosecution, however, has been basically nonexistent. The US has leveraged the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) to deny visas to certain government officials, and the British have followed suite. Foreign assistance to Kenya, however remained at its preexisting levels, leading former British High Commissioner to lambast the World Bank for “feeding the pig of corruption” after extending $120 million in loans just as Githongo’s allegations were surfacing.

During the recent campaign, opposition leader Raila Odinga announced that if he were to win the election he would bring back John Githongo. When asked about this and whether he would serve in a Raila administration, Githongo told BBC HARDtalk, “I will go back to my country. I am not sitting here waiting to be given a government job. I have a very good job as it is. I am a Kenyan, I want to serve my country, [however] I am not at the current time interested in serving in any particular administration.” When asked if he believes Raila’s promise to combat corruption if elected, Githongo responded, “I would like to. But I have heard politicians across the continent of Africa say the same thing. Seeing is believing. Seeing is believing.” A somber look of disgust casts over his face.

Githongo did return in 2008, where he was immediately served with a summons to appear in court on slander charges brought on him by former National Security Minister Chris Murugaru – one of the ministers ousted in the dossier. He has not appeared personally in court on these charges, as his attorneys have been instructed to act on his behalf. In spite, Murungaru continues to release statements saying Githongo is evading the charges leveled against him. Githongo’s defense is that he did not release the report to the public. Githongo continues to live in Kenya, frequently returning to London to continue his work as Vice President of Policy and Advocacy at World Vision International.

His being thrust into the political realm has led many to wonder if he is posturing to run for the Presidency of Kenya. When asked by Alan Cowell of the New York Times if he intended to run for office, Githongo replied, “I have no rural constituency. I have betrayed my entire tribe and the elite around the president – which still has them spluttering with rage. But then I don’t really give a hoot about that. So my attitude is that I’m going to continue here [in London] for a while, forcing a change.”

Githongo’s experience uncovering, exposing, and attempting to combat corruption from within the government, combined with his academic and journalistic mindset, make him a sharp and fascinating intellect on the topic of good governance and anti-corruption efforts. He often shares his brilliantly crafted thoughts on the subject in interviews and on panel discussions.

When asked why fighting corruption is so hard, Githongo says, “Because it means taking politically expensive decisions that affect you as a person, and your friends, and your family. It means making extremely expensive political choices. But in Africa, unless you make them, one is unable to inspire the confidence of people. Corruption in Africa is not so much about amounts of money lost…it’s about inequality. It’s about a small group of people who acquire a disproportionate amount of wealth corruptly, and then flaunt it. [It is the] Conspicuous consumption that they illustrate…in extremely poor societies that causes the anger.” This is especially true in a country where over half the population lives below the poverty line, yet the government spends $12 million on luxury cars.

John Githongo, does however, observe significant changes taking place in Kenyan civil society. He praises advances in the role of media and the use of mobile phones to make information more widely available. His conversations at the grassroots level illustrate to him Kenyan civil society is fully aware of what is going on in their government. People are drawing the correlation between the gross income disparity in the country and the corruption of government leaders. The level of anger over corruption is much higher today, because with scandals such as the collusion driving up petrol and maize prices, the people are directly feeling the pain. This, he hopes, will lead toward a grassroots movement against corruption.

John Githongo has laid out six primary lessons learnt from the fight against corruption over the last ten years:

• Prosecution is the most blunt instrument in the fight against corruption
  • By creating expectations that success means “frying big fish”, you are only setting yourself up to failure
• Perceptions are often more powerful that reality where corruption is concerned
  • There are political implications that come along with anti-corruption efforts that can be extremely divisive and used in dangerous and sometimes violent ways.
• Corruption Pays for Politics – Need to Fix Politics First
  • As Africa has democratized, resources have had to be mobilized to compete in politics — Corruption pays for politics.
• Myth of Anti-Corruption Agencies as One-Stop-Shop has been dispelled
  • Fighting corruption is about creating a culture that involves all of the people.
• There needs to be a “denationalization” of the fight against corruption
  • Historically, governance reforms have been imposed by the West in the form of conditionalities
  • There needs to be “country ownership”
  • Draw a correlation between corruption and people’s poverty and pain — grassroots driven change
• The “most insidious effect of corruption” is that it undermines confidence in political leaders, governing institutions, and even the people themselves.
  • This is worse that the sheer amount of money lost

The story of John Githongo is one that pains any Africanist. It is the story of a man who sought to effect substantive change in his country, only to be turned on by those that had inspired the very hope within him. It is the story of institutionalized corruption in Africa. But, also, it is the story of a man who has persevered in his fight against corruption and remains unwavering in his integrity. The story of John Githongo is not quite over yet.