The president – Kibaki should think carefully if he plans to give audience to Githongo. Githongo might secretly tape him using modern MI5 or MI6 gadgets, only to use them later against Kibaki and Kenya when he returns to the UK. Such tapes will boost Githongo’s roundtrip lectures in European cities against the Kenyan people and the government.

Even if one does not like all the policies in his country, going around the world tainting your own country is malicious but to the pleasure of the west. (API)

Githongo: What I will tell Kibaki if I meet him

By Standard on Sunday Reporter

Self-exiled former Permanent Secretary for Governance and Ethics John Githongo says were he to meet President Kibaki it would be the moment of truth.

Asked if he would meet President whom he abandoned mid-stream, saying he had lost the support he needed to carry on with his work, and what he would tell him, he said: “Absolutely. All I would have is the truth.” When he fled the country, with chunks of tapes of recorded conversations with ministers who he said asked him to slow down investigation into the Sh7 Anglo Leasing scandals because it was about ‘us’, Githongo said there were serious threats to his life.

The BBC aired some of the tapes, including the one on Energy Minister Kiraitu Murungi who said it was a manipulation. But he is yet to release the rest of his arsenal. He, however, maintained he kept the President constantly updated on his progress in investigating Anglo Leasing before hegave up. Expected back on Wednesday since February 2005 when he threw in the towel while on an official engagement in London, Githongo maintains he neither betrayed the country nor his community by exposing corruption in the Cabinet.

John Githongo : Former Governance and Ethics Permanent Secretary

“That opinion is their democratic right. I was not employed by Gikuyu Inc but by the Kenyan nation of more than 37 million people, as I have said before,’’ was his response to our question.

The man nicknamed anti-graft czar because of the zeal with which he went about his work on being appointed presidential advisor on war against corruption, answered our questions from London as he prepared for the homecoming.

The interview cast the image of a man whose language, demeanour and disposition appear unchanged. It projected the Githongo Kenyans have known; bold and fearless; consistent, unassuming and unapologetic. On the high and mighty with whom he was in the civil society keeping the Kanu on toes, but who changed language once the National Rainbow Coalition swept into power, Githongo says: “I made some serious errors of emotional judgement. Rationally it was clear because I had often written about it. But when confronted with it up close as part of relationships in which you have an emotional interest, it is a different beast altogether.”

The former head of Transparency International (Kenya Chapter) who will be talking at the Kenya Human Rights Commission’s conference on August 20, held his cards close to the chest when asked if he was coming home to stay. “There are a variety of ways one can contribute to building one’s nation,’’ was his answer.

Centre of gravity

On Prime Minister Raila Odinga and the capacity to stem the tide of corruption, Githongo’s response was: “Raila Odinga has been the centre of gravity of Kenyan politics for some time now. He is currently balancing thousands of interests and managing endless expectations. The anti-corruption one is not voiced too loudly right now but on it the harshest judgements are made. He has the energy and courage to confront it.”

Githongo, a senior associate member of St Antony’s College, Oxford, has been staying in London since he resigned and switched homes while on official duty in the United Kingdom. His departure, he said, created the worst political and confidence crisis for Kibaki since he came to power in 2002. He threw in the towel as his boss grappled with the public and donors to demonstrate he intended to tackle runaway official corruption.

The high profile symbol of President Kibaki’s battle against corruption did not, at the time, say why he was quitting, merely stating he could not continue. But his exit, abrupt as it was, eroded the Kibaki administration’s credibility in war against the vice.

He was in London with Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission director Justice Aaron Ringera, where they met representatives of Kroll and Associates, a firm contracted by the Government to track down looted wealth in foreign banks.

He later said it took him seven plans to execute his departure. He shared his frustrations with those he was seeking to prosecute over corruption.

Githongo is said to have had a tense meeting with three key ministers associated with Kibaki’s hard line wing, before flying out to Europe.

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API/Source.standard.ke