E-Clips:- Business Pictorial - Anti-Graft Chief To Stay On In London

Former anti -corruption chief, John Githongo, who resigned yesterday is staying on in London, The Standard can reveal.

The former Permanent Secretary in charge of Governance and Ethics at the Office of the President is ‘keeping a low profile’ in the United Kingdom. Knowledgeable sources confirmed that Githongo was expected to stay as a guest for an indefinite period.

Githongo, 39, resigned yesterday saying he was no longer able to continue serving the government of Kenya.

Githongo’s high profile resignation comes days after the British High Commissioner Sir Edward Clay accused the Kibaki government of covering up corruption. In a stinging criticism of the government, Sir Edward singled out the Office of the President as one of the leading customers of corruption. As news of his premature resignation reached London, contradictory reports of Githongo’s whereabouts started to emerge.

Speculation was rife in London that the former PS was in Tbilisi, Georgia, in Eastern Europe attending the funeral of Prime Minister Zurab Zhvania,

who died of carbon monoxide poisoning earlier this week. Sources claimed that Githongo visited the Georgian embassy in London on Friday to apply for a visa to Georgia and was expected to attend his friend’s funeral in Tbilisi’s Didube cemetery in Georgia yesterday

Among the dignitaries in Tbilisi for the funeral were US Senator Richard Lugar, who is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Russian Transport Minister Igor Levitin and World Bank president James Wolfensohn.

Sources said Githongo arrived in London on February 3rd from Oslo, Norway accompanied by Justice Aaron Ringera, Director of the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC). They were later joined by Dorothy Angote, PS in the ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs. Both Githongo and Ringera were booked at Royal Horse Guard hotel, a four-star hotel in a quiet area of Whitehall overlooking the River Thames.

Sources said both men were locked in high-profile meetings on Thursday and Friday in Central London. "The two anti-graft chiefs kept their mission in London very secretive, though it was common knowledge they were pursuing matters related to corruption, they left no clues as to where they were going or who they were meeting", said a source who met with them briefly in London.

Yesterday, a source at Kenya High Commission confirmed the Kenya High Commissioner in UK, Joseph Muchemi was not aware of the two graft chief’s mission in UK. "Muchemi was somehow in the dark, while it’s normal government procedure for visiting senior government officials to use diplomatic vehicles while on official duty in UK, Githongo declined to use the services and preferred to use his own means. This could only fuel speculation on the secrecy of his mission in London", said a source.

Though there was no obvious sign that Githongo was about to quit government, a source who spent time with him on Thursday told The Standard that the soft spoken PS appeared "frustrated and agitated" as he spoke to someone on his cell phone. "Am increasingly frustrated with the fight against graft in Kenya ... I wish I could speak my mind on this issue," Githongo allegedly told his caller.

Four days after this phone conversation, Githongo resigned, saying "he was no longer able to continue serving the government of Kenya".

On Saturday, Githongo met several Kenyans residing in Oxford. Justice Ringera, PS Angote and Cabinet minister Martha Karua left London for Nairobi on Sunday night aboard Kenya Airways Flight 101. Karua was enroute to Nairobi from Berlin and Amsterdam.

They were seen off by High Commissioner Muchemi and there was no sign of Githongo who was left behind attending to "private business". Githongo was appointed Permanent Secretary in January 2003. Prior to his appointment, he was the Executive Director of Transparency International-Kenya. In his working career, he has been involved in consultancy and journalism.