Mr. John Githongo: The Definition of Honour.

Mr. John Githongo was appointed as the ethics and governance permanent secretary in the office of the president in an effort to boost the government’s war on graft. Or so it seemed. Mr. Githongo’s reputation as a crusader for a corruption free society preceded his appointment and was widely acclaimed both within and outside the country. Having previously served as the Amnesty International Chief here in Kenya, his experience informed his way about where to look, who to question, which bureaucratic loopholes to watch and which legal crevices to seal. Being answerable to only the president, the appointing authority, Mr. Githongo hit the ground running with a take no prisoners approach.

However, like most Government appointees to similar positions in such delicate ministries, he was expected to play ball as high profile ministers (the President’s inner circle), made questionable transactions with ghost institutions in offshore accounts. But a principled Mr. Githongo would not play ball in a game he was appointed and was getting paid to referee. He blew the whistle on what came to known as the Anglo-leasing scandal, a scheme that cost Kenya billions of hard earned tax-payers money. A careful man, Mr. Githongo handed in his resignation and blew the whistle after leaving Davos where he had attended the World Economic Forum conference.

With the Anglo-leasing scandal, Kenyans optimism which then ranked as one of the highest in the world suffered a bout of pessimism that persists to date. Though most Kenyans were grateful that he blew the whistle on this mega scandal, their opinion sharply differed when it came to his resignation and subsequent fleeing of the country. Those with avenues and resources to address the masses read [Government] fed on this division to vilify Mr. Githongo, painting him as untrustworthy. He was called a coward for resigning and a traitor which depending on the accuser meant either of three things.

1. Betrayal of his friends who expected him to condone and tolerate their fleecing ways;

2. Betrayal of his tribe whose members he implicated in this scandal;

3. Betrayal of his country whose dirty linen he aired in the UK;

Given the reaction of Kenyans towards Mr. Githongo when he finally returned after a three and a half year self-imposed exile in the UK, it is evident that we have a lesson or two to learn or unlearn in what is nowadays called re-education.

If we were to set aside emotional reactions and embrace reason and logic, if we become wiling to look and borrow from lessons beyond our borders and continent, we would see honour and not cowardice in what Mr. Githongo did. Mr. Githongo resigned because his work was being undermined within the very Government h was working for. He resigned because staying on would have meant lying to Kenyans and the world that graft was being tackled whereas it still flourished behind the scenes. He resigned because his conscience would not allow him to waste tax-payers money in the form of his plum salary yet the only action on his exposes would be cover-up. He resigned because like many other important documents, reports, and recommendations, his would also end up in the dust laden shelves of Government offices, the burial ground for Kenya’s hopes and dreams. He resigned because he finally understood that his work was like that of Nivea and Mascara, just make-up to be applied on our ugly face of corruption, yet our ugliness ran skin deep. All these are honourable reasons for resigning and for that, Mr. Githongo is an honourable man.

Kenyans might not see the honour in it probably because they do not know any better. Resignation is a concept alien to Kenyans especially when it comes to people holding public office. Government officials in Kenya do not resigned even in the face of accusations backed with credible evidence. They just cannot step aside no matter what and from that; the greater Kenyan population is taking its cue. These officials have to be kindly asked, begged, requested, nudged, and even censured for them to even consider resigning. (They would rather die than resign.) It is this fighting spirit that these public officials display against resignations that has castigated it as cowardice to actually resign. Unlike Mr. Githongo, these are actually thieving bastards who have been caught red-handed with their hands in the coffers, they outgrew cookie jars. It can be argued that this kind of rogue courage can only flourish when fellow thieves are the gate-keepers or in a society where impunity thrives.

These are not just mere rants of this blogger, nor are they simplistic accusations, associations, and assertions. In a society where resignations are rare, there is usually a psychological entrenchment that only cowards resign, or that resignations are admissions of guilt. Like Kenya, the larger Africa has seen few resignations with several heads of state going to the extent of changing the constitution in order to extend their hold on power – Museveni in Uganda, Col. Gadaffi in Libya and Mugabe in Zimbabwe are just cases in point.

Mr. Githongo has also been labeled a traitor for seeking asylum in the UK, from where he released evidence incriminating our honourable members of parliament. Only great men can walk away from the seduction of easy money that corruption offers, especially in third world countries. Even greater men can people they have been friends with, bosses they report to, communities they belong to and Governments they work for. In Africa, and Kenya is no exception, such great personalities have a history of dying under mysterious circumstances. Several statesmen, spiritual leaders and upright men who had the courage to speak the truth to power are lying six feet under, their murders unsolved. Pio Gama Pinto, Tom Mboya, J.M. Kariuki, Robert Ouko, Father Kaiser, Rev. Alexander Muge, are just some of the murdered honourable men that graced Kenya. With a very real possibility of making it to this list, Mr. Githongo fled the country and is still alive today. Thus, only the naïve or those unfamiliar with Kenya’s history with its best brains and hearts can cast Githongo as a traitor. If neither, they are just ignorant.

Resigning is an honourable thing to do and honourable men and women do it willingly. Resignations are meant to give room for investigations that devoid of interference by the accused. Resignations, more then upholding the integrity of the institution restores the faith of the people in these institutions, which serve as back up for when our leaders fail or abuse their offices. Resignations are what those confident of being cleared do and/or what those otherwise great men who succumbed to momentary weakness do to regain lost respect.

As things stand, most of us do not even know who the enemy is. No wonder people dared to turn against Mr. Githongo, who has been fighting our real enemy all along. The enemy called corruption that has seen 40 per cent of our GDP, since independence, stolen. Kenyans should know better by now. We should be angrier, more assertive, more skeptical, more informed, more courageous, more morally upright and only then will we demand accountability from our leaders. God knows few will engage in it out of their own volition.

But as one paper recently labeled him, he is the “traitor who stayed true to his country”.