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It's Our Turn to Eat: The Story of a Kenyan Whistle-Blower
The true story of one man’s fight against "like a John Le Carré novel” that shows “how and why Kenya descended into political violence” (Washington Post). In January 2003, Kenya was hailed as a model of democracy after the peaceful election of President Mwai Kibaki. By appointing respected longtime reformer John Githongo as anticorruption czar, the new Kikuyu government signaled its determination to end the shady practices that had tainted the previous regime. Yet only two years later, Githongo himself was on the run, having secretly compiled evidence of official malfeasance throughout the new administration. Unable to remain silent, Githongo, at great personal risk, made the painful choice to go public. The result was a Kenyan Watergate. Michela Wrong’s account of how a pillar of the establishment turned whistle-blower—instantly becoming one of the most hated and admired men in Kenya—grips like a political thriller while probing the very roots of the nation’s predicament.“A fast-paced political thriller. . . . Wrong’s gripping, thoughtful book stands as both a tribute to Githongo’s courage and a cautionary tale.” —New York Times Book Review
372 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 19, 2009
229 people are currently reading
3727 people want to read
About the author
Michela Wrong
6 books248 followersHalf-Italian, half-British, Michela Wrong was born in 1961. She grew up in London and took a degree in Philosophy and Social Sciences at Jesus College, Cambridge and a diploma in journalism at Cardiff.
She joined Reuters news agency in the early 1980s and was posted as a foreign correspondent to Italy, France and Ivory Coast. She became a freelance journalist in 1994, when she moved to then-Zaire and found herself covering both the genocide in neighbouring Rwanda and the final days of dictator Mobutu Sese Seko for the BBC and Reuters. She later moved to Kenya, where she spent four years covering east, west and central Africa for the Financial Times newspaper.
In 2000 she published her first book, "In the Footsteps of Mr Kurtz", the story of Mobutu's rise and fall, which won a PEN prize for non-fiction. Her second book, "I didn't do it for you", which focused on the little-written-about Red Sea nation of Eritrea, came out in 2005 and was hailed as a "gripping political thriller" by Monica Ali.
Her third book, published in February 2009, was "It's Our Turn to Eat", which tracks the story of Kenyan corruption whistleblower John Githongo, who sought refuge in her London flat. Boycotted by Nairobi bookshops terrified of being sued, it has become an underground bestseller in Kenya, distributed by local churches, radio stations and non-governmental groups and debated in town hall meetings. Described as reading "like a cross between Le Carre and Solzhenitsyn", it has triggered expressions of interest from US and South African film directors. It was named as one of the Economist's "best books of 2009" and was shortlisted for the Orwell Prize.
Michela Wrong's non-fiction books on contemporary Africa aim to be accessible to both members of the general public and experts in the field. They have become a must-read for diplomats, aid officials, journalists and strategists based on the continent and regularly feature on the "required reading" lists of International Relations and African Studies courses at university. She was awarded the 2010 James Cameron prize for journalism "that combined moral vision and professional integrity
She currently lives in London and is regularly interviewed by the BBC, Al Jazeera and Reuters on her areas of expertise. She has published opinion pieces and book reviews in the Observer, Guardian, Financial Times, New Statesman, Spectator, Standpoint and Foreign Policy magazine, and travel pieces for Traveler Conde Nast. She speaks fluent Italian and French.
In 2014 she was appointed literary director of the Miles Morland Foundation, which funds a range of African literary festivals and a scholarship scheme for African writers. She is a trustee of the Africa Research Institute and an advisor to the Centre for Global Development.
She joined Reuters news agency in the early 1980s and was posted as a foreign correspondent to Italy, France and Ivory Coast. She became a freelance journalist in 1994, when she moved to then-Zaire and found herself covering both the genocide in neighbouring Rwanda and the final days of dictator Mobutu Sese Seko for the BBC and Reuters. She later moved to Kenya, where she spent four years covering east, west and central Africa for the Financial Times newspaper.
In 2000 she published her first book, "In the Footsteps of Mr Kurtz", the story of Mobutu's rise and fall, which won a PEN prize for non-fiction. Her second book, "I didn't do it for you", which focused on the little-written-about Red Sea nation of Eritrea, came out in 2005 and was hailed as a "gripping political thriller" by Monica Ali.
Her third book, published in February 2009, was "It's Our Turn to Eat", which tracks the story of Kenyan corruption whistleblower John Githongo, who sought refuge in her London flat. Boycotted by Nairobi bookshops terrified of being sued, it has become an underground bestseller in Kenya, distributed by local churches, radio stations and non-governmental groups and debated in town hall meetings. Described as reading "like a cross between Le Carre and Solzhenitsyn", it has triggered expressions of interest from US and South African film directors. It was named as one of the Economist's "best books of 2009" and was shortlisted for the Orwell Prize.
Michela Wrong's non-fiction books on contemporary Africa aim to be accessible to both members of the general public and experts in the field. They have become a must-read for diplomats, aid officials, journalists and strategists based on the continent and regularly feature on the "required reading" lists of International Relations and African Studies courses at university. She was awarded the 2010 James Cameron prize for journalism "that combined moral vision and professional integrity
She currently lives in London and is regularly interviewed by the BBC, Al Jazeera and Reuters on her areas of expertise. She has published opinion pieces and book reviews in the Observer, Guardian, Financial Times, New Statesman, Spectator, Standpoint and Foreign Policy magazine, and travel pieces for Traveler Conde Nast. She speaks fluent Italian and French.
In 2014 she was appointed literary director of the Miles Morland Foundation, which funds a range of African literary festivals and a scholarship scheme for African writers. She is a trustee of the Africa Research Institute and an advisor to the Centre for Global Development.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 161 reviews
February 1, 2011
Speaking of my own country, there goes a lot I know only in skimpy details. Thanks to this book, I delved into a deeper understanding of stuff I used to see in the news (and let pass disinterestedly) when I was in High School. Grand corruption has happened in Kenya, and still happens. And to my understanding, we need many more guys like Githongo! Let whistles be blown. Let the ordinary citizen see the government, and those politicians for what they are. But, not to sound too pessimistic, I often doubt that the war against corruption will be won, unless we first win the hearts and minds of men. Nice book, makes me want to read more stuff about my own country!
June 25, 2010
The central story of this book is fascinating. It concerns the travails of John Githongo, the Kenyan Governance and Ethics Secretary, who in 2004 fled his country in fear for his life when he outed an intricate government kickback scandal known as Anglo Leasing. British journalist Michela Wrong is uniquely suited to tell his story because Githongo hid in her house during his surreptitious sojourn in London. There, while being trailed by Kenyan intelligence, he transcribed the conversations he secretly taped between himself, his old boss (President Mwai Kibaki), and his grasping cabinet. Githongo then wrote and released a damning report on the still pervasive government corruption destroying his country.
But Githongo's story actually takes up only a small part of the book, since, understandably, few others want to talk about his stretch of time in the Kenyan State House. The real amazing insights here concern the history of Kenya leading up to President Kibaki and, even more importantly, the developed world's strange reactions to Githongo's impressive work.
Wrong shows that, beginning with the colonialist Sir Charles Eliot in the early 1900s, ruler after Kenyan ruler worked to exacerbate and exploit Kenyan ethnic differences. The British practically invented them with their self-appointed "government chiefs" and their 24 arbitrary "native reserves" for suddenly organized tribes like the "Luhya" or the "Kalenjin" (which literally means "I say to you," the opening of a British army recruiting broadcast, but now generally recognized as an ancient "tribe"). The British also demanded identity cards for traveling males and instituted rules against migration outside one's own "reserve." The first black leader, Jomo Kenyatta, furthered this mentality by buttressing his own Kikuyu tribe with plum government jobs and good infrastructure. Then the disastrous reign of Daniel Arap Moi (as some said, "L'etat, c'est Moi") brought the Kalenjin tribe to ridiculously disproportionate power (at 8% of the population, they had a third of the cabinet seats, and medical care so good that they were 50% less likely to die before the age of 5 than the rest of the country). By 2002, the large Kikuyu organized across ethnic lines in an idealistic campaign to elect Mwai Kibaki, but secretly many Kikuyu said merely that "it's our turn to eat." In the end there was no ideology, just plain robbery for the sake of family and tribe.
Yet after Githongo (himself a Kikuyu) revealed the extent of this corruption, the aid donors in the First World were shockingly quiescent. Many pointed to the GDP growth rates of 6% under Kibaki (compared to almost nothing under Moi), and claimed, with a hint of condescension, that one had to expect some corruption in any African country. Tony Blair's government had pledged on its election to increase foreign aid to 0.7% of its GDP, and they were having enough trouble giving cash to respectable African leaders without a gadfly like Githongo around. When their own High Commissioner, Sir Edward Clay, began attacking the Kenyan corruption, they became even more defensive, and barely delayed even a single aid payment, much of which undoubtedly went to the bank accounts of presidential favorites.
Ultimately, in an almost too perfect denouement, Githongo's warnings were proved accurate when the Kenyan government the First World donors said was trustworthy falsified its 2007 election returns to keep itself in power, which lead to massive popular outrage and unprecedented ethnic bloodletting, with up to 1,500 people killed and 300,000 people displaced. The tragedy is that some harsh words and actions from foreign donors, whose aid made up almost 5% of the Kenyan budget, could have averted the whole disaster and brought down Kibaki years before he went over the edge. Instead, the dangers of unchecked ethnic favoritism were made all too apparent.
Overall, this book tells an amazing, classic story of good intentions gone awry and noble efforts stymied in political pragmatics. In some ways, it's an old tale well told.
But Githongo's story actually takes up only a small part of the book, since, understandably, few others want to talk about his stretch of time in the Kenyan State House. The real amazing insights here concern the history of Kenya leading up to President Kibaki and, even more importantly, the developed world's strange reactions to Githongo's impressive work.
Wrong shows that, beginning with the colonialist Sir Charles Eliot in the early 1900s, ruler after Kenyan ruler worked to exacerbate and exploit Kenyan ethnic differences. The British practically invented them with their self-appointed "government chiefs" and their 24 arbitrary "native reserves" for suddenly organized tribes like the "Luhya" or the "Kalenjin" (which literally means "I say to you," the opening of a British army recruiting broadcast, but now generally recognized as an ancient "tribe"). The British also demanded identity cards for traveling males and instituted rules against migration outside one's own "reserve." The first black leader, Jomo Kenyatta, furthered this mentality by buttressing his own Kikuyu tribe with plum government jobs and good infrastructure. Then the disastrous reign of Daniel Arap Moi (as some said, "L'etat, c'est Moi") brought the Kalenjin tribe to ridiculously disproportionate power (at 8% of the population, they had a third of the cabinet seats, and medical care so good that they were 50% less likely to die before the age of 5 than the rest of the country). By 2002, the large Kikuyu organized across ethnic lines in an idealistic campaign to elect Mwai Kibaki, but secretly many Kikuyu said merely that "it's our turn to eat." In the end there was no ideology, just plain robbery for the sake of family and tribe.
Yet after Githongo (himself a Kikuyu) revealed the extent of this corruption, the aid donors in the First World were shockingly quiescent. Many pointed to the GDP growth rates of 6% under Kibaki (compared to almost nothing under Moi), and claimed, with a hint of condescension, that one had to expect some corruption in any African country. Tony Blair's government had pledged on its election to increase foreign aid to 0.7% of its GDP, and they were having enough trouble giving cash to respectable African leaders without a gadfly like Githongo around. When their own High Commissioner, Sir Edward Clay, began attacking the Kenyan corruption, they became even more defensive, and barely delayed even a single aid payment, much of which undoubtedly went to the bank accounts of presidential favorites.
Ultimately, in an almost too perfect denouement, Githongo's warnings were proved accurate when the Kenyan government the First World donors said was trustworthy falsified its 2007 election returns to keep itself in power, which lead to massive popular outrage and unprecedented ethnic bloodletting, with up to 1,500 people killed and 300,000 people displaced. The tragedy is that some harsh words and actions from foreign donors, whose aid made up almost 5% of the Kenyan budget, could have averted the whole disaster and brought down Kibaki years before he went over the edge. Instead, the dangers of unchecked ethnic favoritism were made all too apparent.
Overall, this book tells an amazing, classic story of good intentions gone awry and noble efforts stymied in political pragmatics. In some ways, it's an old tale well told.
October 3, 2025
John Githongo, a one-time activist in his home nation of Kenya, is invited to be a corruption czar in the new administration. But even after promises of good behavior and full access to all the files and info, it isn’t long before the president turns bad. John flees for his life in a manner befitting a spy novel.
Wrong paints John in just the right way: a good guy in the wrong place at the wrong time. (Name pun completely unintended.) She describes his grand physical stature brilliantly and tells a compelling tale of his early fight for justice. Then, we get a highly detailed story of his time in office. Hopeful at first, then gradually descending into corruption. There’s interaction with the author herself: he hides out at her place for a while, dodging shady characters hiding in the shadows.
The aftermath isn’t exactly described chronologically, so be ready to jump around a bit. Also, this is loaded – and I mean, LOADED – with detail. There are descriptions of meetings, op eds, Parliament motions, you name it. It often felt like reading a really long news article, when I’ve been used to mostly fiction. But there are plenty of those LeCarre-esque moments. John’s escape and ensuing London intrigue are entertaining.
Good investigative reporting on an interesting subject.
Wrong paints John in just the right way: a good guy in the wrong place at the wrong time. (Name pun completely unintended.) She describes his grand physical stature brilliantly and tells a compelling tale of his early fight for justice. Then, we get a highly detailed story of his time in office. Hopeful at first, then gradually descending into corruption. There’s interaction with the author herself: he hides out at her place for a while, dodging shady characters hiding in the shadows.
The aftermath isn’t exactly described chronologically, so be ready to jump around a bit. Also, this is loaded – and I mean, LOADED – with detail. There are descriptions of meetings, op eds, Parliament motions, you name it. It often felt like reading a really long news article, when I’ve been used to mostly fiction. But there are plenty of those LeCarre-esque moments. John’s escape and ensuing London intrigue are entertaining.
Good investigative reporting on an interesting subject.
June 30, 2009
This book is unofficially banned in Kenya (which means no book-store will dare to stock it) -- but its gained quite an underground following -- I have found it on sale on the streets, being sold at a profitable premium by newspaper vendors.
Rather than being a tell-all book about a corruption scandal - the book goes into some length about the nature of corruption in Kenya. Tribal identity and loyalty to clans -- and a culture of impunity are brought out very well in this biographical work.
Few people in Kenya bothered to read the Githongo dossier (available online on the bbc website) or the Kroll report (available on the mars-kenya website) -- the reason being these were never "official" reports released by a government authority. This book is not for people seeking a "officially endorsed" storyline of events.
In the end it is a tale of bravery and honesty -- and a solitary man's crusade to change the status quo.
Rather than being a tell-all book about a corruption scandal - the book goes into some length about the nature of corruption in Kenya. Tribal identity and loyalty to clans -- and a culture of impunity are brought out very well in this biographical work.
Few people in Kenya bothered to read the Githongo dossier (available online on the bbc website) or the Kroll report (available on the mars-kenya website) -- the reason being these were never "official" reports released by a government authority. This book is not for people seeking a "officially endorsed" storyline of events.
In the end it is a tale of bravery and honesty -- and a solitary man's crusade to change the status quo.
June 18, 2009
If you have any interest in Kenya, or how corruption works in Africa, or how aid agencies can exacerbate corruption, READ THIS BOOK. Wrong is a careful, clear writer who pulls no punches. Nobody comes across as a hero here, but in telling the story of John Githongo, who exposed a huge corruption scandal within the Kenyan govt. to the world, Wrong manages to be both pragmatic and hopeful. I found myself not only nodding but exclaiming out loud in agreement, as well as wincing at times at the mirror of Kenyan society held up in this book. If I could give more than five stars, I would.
November 19, 2010
I would like to give this book a higher rating, because I actually quite enjoyed it, but it has some definite shortcomings. The greatest of these shortcomings is it's lack of a unifying thought. The author can't seem to decide if this is a book about John Githongo, or more generally about the Anglo Leasing scandal, or even more generally a history of corruption (and it's influence) in Kenya. This is perhaps most obvious in the last chapters of the book, where she tries to tack on a brief recounting of the electoral violence of 2007/8 but it comes off feeling shoehorned in.
It's an interesting piece of Kenyan history to recount, involving electoral violence, death threats, paid informants, international exiles, and illicitly taped conversations. And I greatly enjoyed reading more of the details, since I was living in Malawi in 2007 and was largely disconnected from international news at the time (I was aware of John Githongo and the Anglo Leasing scandal, but not on any greatly detailed level). However the book simply lacks a clearly defined unifying argument or thought. I think, if asked, she would argue that the central idea is political "eating," and Kenya's history of swinging back and forth between different ethnic leaders -- for whom the problem was never corruption, but the fact that corruption was benefiting someone else -- but there are so many different tangents and facts and opinions and arguments thrown in together that no single unifying one is able to rise to the surface.
She is a good writer, and she has a unique personal window into both the electoral violence and John Githongo. In fact, the book is at it's best when the author recounts events which she herself was involved in, which may explain why my favourite part of the book is the ending (which isn't even about the financial scandal, instead covering the political violence). It's just unfortunate that the book wasn't able to be more.
It's an interesting piece of Kenyan history to recount, involving electoral violence, death threats, paid informants, international exiles, and illicitly taped conversations. And I greatly enjoyed reading more of the details, since I was living in Malawi in 2007 and was largely disconnected from international news at the time (I was aware of John Githongo and the Anglo Leasing scandal, but not on any greatly detailed level). However the book simply lacks a clearly defined unifying argument or thought. I think, if asked, she would argue that the central idea is political "eating," and Kenya's history of swinging back and forth between different ethnic leaders -- for whom the problem was never corruption, but the fact that corruption was benefiting someone else -- but there are so many different tangents and facts and opinions and arguments thrown in together that no single unifying one is able to rise to the surface.
She is a good writer, and she has a unique personal window into both the electoral violence and John Githongo. In fact, the book is at it's best when the author recounts events which she herself was involved in, which may explain why my favourite part of the book is the ending (which isn't even about the financial scandal, instead covering the political violence). It's just unfortunate that the book wasn't able to be more.
September 5, 2014
A fascinating story of a man that was naïve enough to believe he can bring down corrupion in Kenya and succeeded if only in setting up a precedent that will win in the long run. And another good one from Michela Wrong.
March 17, 2010
This book was banned in Kenya and John Githongo was labeled a traitor. Radio stations responded by holding week long competitions, where callers could win a copy of the book every hour, on the hour. Street Hawkers made a killing, selling copies of the book in traffic jams (in full view of the authorities) and on the streets. College students downloaded and distributed e-copies of the book within their social networks. I mean, the ban was a great campaign for the book!
(It is also a sign of progress I guess, because if this had happened during our former President Moi's regime, lets just say the secret service would be working overtime for months)
I am a fan of Michela Wrong, and this book hit quite close to home, since Im a Kenyan. It was a great look at our history, especially alot of details about post independence that cannot be found in text books and the usual, bone dry historical accounts that are most available. I also loved all the little gossipy details she had about all kinds of Kenyan quirks. I actually want to read it again.
(It is also a sign of progress I guess, because if this had happened during our former President Moi's regime, lets just say the secret service would be working overtime for months)
I am a fan of Michela Wrong, and this book hit quite close to home, since Im a Kenyan. It was a great look at our history, especially alot of details about post independence that cannot be found in text books and the usual, bone dry historical accounts that are most available. I also loved all the little gossipy details she had about all kinds of Kenyan quirks. I actually want to read it again.
August 4, 2014
Sometimes reading a book about a place when you have local bias does not add any marks to the book. Michela does a fantastic job of dissecting the problem of graft in Kenya but with some very broad strokes. Written as an historic account of inequality and injustice, the book does more to report on the general nature of corruption in Kenya than naming any specifics or creating any form of hypotheses or inference. It's sometimes hard to keep up with the unwinding and undulating story however as when the writer goes on a wide tangent, tracking an issue back to colonial times before winding back to the main thread of the book. On finishing it I feel informed rather than enlightened or fortified, somewhat as if I've just read a very long newspaper article on corruption in Kenya. But this is understandable considering the author is in fact a journalist.
January 29, 2019
Absolutely beautiful beautiful book
Wrong's gone full drive over here, giving you all the different views of what she's telling.
At the beginning of the book you start reading it, feeling inspired, wanting to go all Githongo but at the end, the cost is very high, Githongo lost a relationship, David Munyakei lost his life due to the short memory span of Kenyans. And through this book I found out about him, an unsung national hero who died of the most tragic of causes, poverty.... It really makes you think twice... Yes the untouchables are touchable but what's the cost?
Thanks to this book I'll never look at the Maribou Storks that hang around the Nyayo national stadium in the same manner again, they now stand for something much more than just an animal in the avian class...
Wrong's gone full drive over here, giving you all the different views of what she's telling.
At the beginning of the book you start reading it, feeling inspired, wanting to go all Githongo but at the end, the cost is very high, Githongo lost a relationship, David Munyakei lost his life due to the short memory span of Kenyans. And through this book I found out about him, an unsung national hero who died of the most tragic of causes, poverty.... It really makes you think twice... Yes the untouchables are touchable but what's the cost?
Thanks to this book I'll never look at the Maribou Storks that hang around the Nyayo national stadium in the same manner again, they now stand for something much more than just an animal in the avian class...
August 14, 2013
It was a good read indeed, largely about the history of corruption/root of social injustices in Kenya than the story of a Kenyan whistle blower.
It is written for an audience outside Kenya or the Kenyan generation born from the mid 1990s. There isn't much for someone who witnessed the Kenyatta, Moi, Kibaki and now Uhuru presidency. I was jazzed by John Githongo...not an easy thing to do but he did it and has possibly inspired change in one way or another.
It is written for an audience outside Kenya or the Kenyan generation born from the mid 1990s. There isn't much for someone who witnessed the Kenyatta, Moi, Kibaki and now Uhuru presidency. I was jazzed by John Githongo...not an easy thing to do but he did it and has possibly inspired change in one way or another.
September 3, 2013
Book was ok. It was a good glimpse into the recent troubles of Kenya, but I got the impression that she wanted to tell her own story more than the supposed main character, John Gothongo. She also kept referencing the Western media as if she wasn't a part of it...and yet ends the book by contemplating how best Western donors can react given the story just told.
August 14, 2021
The book in three sentences:
John Githongo, a well known Kenyan journalist and anti-corruption campaigner, is appointed by then-President Mwai Kibaki to clean up Kenya's rotten government.
Soon after taking the job, Githongo uncovers a monumental act of corruption, forcing him to resign and, ultimately, to flee into exile in fear of his life.
Can honest individuals break the cycle of ethnic chauvinism, elite enrichment and poverty in Africa, or are these patterns doomed to repeat?
My reflections:
African whistle-blowers tend to have a difficult time when calling out corruption. Not only do they make themselves a target of ruthless governments intent on protecting their patronage networks upon which they depend, they also go against the grain of ethnic solidarity.
International aid agencies often unwittingly perpetuate corruption in recipient countries. By failing to impose stringent conditions on African governments, they break the accountability link between citizens and leaders. When it comes to corruption in Africa, there is a soft bigotry of low expectations. Foreign governments want to be seen to be doing the right thing, but when it comes to holding local leaders accountable for corruption, they shy away. Aid agencies are rewarded for dispersing funds, not for results, and tend to suffer from scope-creep and the sunk-cost fallacy.
Governance matters for development. Without a culture of accountability, and legal protections for whistleblowers, you will struggle to emerge from poverty. Growth is not simply a question of policy, it is also contingent on the rights of individuals.
Quotes:
"The fixation shocks other Africans, who privately whisper at how 'backward' they find Kenya, with its talk of foreskins and its focus on male appendages. 'There's no ideological debate here,' complain incoming diplomats, baffled by a political system in which notions of 'left' or 'right', 'capitalist' or 'socialist', 'radical,' or 'conservative' seem irrelevant: 'It's all about tribe.'" ~ p.44
"'What we Africans have realised is that your leaders need to lend to us more than we need to be lent to.'" ~ p.205
"Playing to the industrialised world's guilt complex, the Make Poverty History campaign, Africa Commission and Gleneagles summit all shared one characteristic: the emphasis was on Western rather than African, action. Top-down, statist, these initiatives were all about donor obligations, pledges and behaviour. What they definitely weren't about – despite token references to the importance of 'good governance' and a supposed pact between North and South – was highlighting the shortcomings of African governments set to benefit from future Western largesse." ~ p.206
"The wristband-wearing activists who linked hands around Edinburgh in solidarity with the the Make Poverty History cause might bask in the glow of moral righteousness, but to John, an unarticulated 'It's Africa, what else can you expect?' lay behind their pitying stance. 'There's a condescending, implicitly racist argument with regard to Africa, which says that "excessive enthusiasm" in the fight against corruption somehow undermines the task of fighting poverty. But corruption, systemic corruption, is the most efficient poverty factor on the continent.'" ~ p.266
"Worried Westerners, who so often seem to fall prey to a benign form of megalomania when it comes to Africa, would do well to accept that salvation is simply not theirs to bestow. They should be more modest, more knowing, and less naïve. They owe it not only to the Western taxpayers who make development organisations' largesse possible, but to Africans whose destinies they attempt to alter." ~ pp.325-6.
"'If you pump money into a system where there is leakage, you are effectively rewarding leakage and disincentivising those trying to stop it,' says Paul Collier. 'Change in Africa can only come from Africans, who are fighting against terrible odds. On the whole, they fail. They end up in exile, or come to a sticky end. If you don't, as a donor, support people like John, you are counteracting their fight for change.'" ~ p.326
John Githongo, a well known Kenyan journalist and anti-corruption campaigner, is appointed by then-President Mwai Kibaki to clean up Kenya's rotten government.
Soon after taking the job, Githongo uncovers a monumental act of corruption, forcing him to resign and, ultimately, to flee into exile in fear of his life.
Can honest individuals break the cycle of ethnic chauvinism, elite enrichment and poverty in Africa, or are these patterns doomed to repeat?
My reflections:
African whistle-blowers tend to have a difficult time when calling out corruption. Not only do they make themselves a target of ruthless governments intent on protecting their patronage networks upon which they depend, they also go against the grain of ethnic solidarity.
International aid agencies often unwittingly perpetuate corruption in recipient countries. By failing to impose stringent conditions on African governments, they break the accountability link between citizens and leaders. When it comes to corruption in Africa, there is a soft bigotry of low expectations. Foreign governments want to be seen to be doing the right thing, but when it comes to holding local leaders accountable for corruption, they shy away. Aid agencies are rewarded for dispersing funds, not for results, and tend to suffer from scope-creep and the sunk-cost fallacy.
Governance matters for development. Without a culture of accountability, and legal protections for whistleblowers, you will struggle to emerge from poverty. Growth is not simply a question of policy, it is also contingent on the rights of individuals.
Quotes:
"The fixation shocks other Africans, who privately whisper at how 'backward' they find Kenya, with its talk of foreskins and its focus on male appendages. 'There's no ideological debate here,' complain incoming diplomats, baffled by a political system in which notions of 'left' or 'right', 'capitalist' or 'socialist', 'radical,' or 'conservative' seem irrelevant: 'It's all about tribe.'" ~ p.44
"'What we Africans have realised is that your leaders need to lend to us more than we need to be lent to.'" ~ p.205
"Playing to the industrialised world's guilt complex, the Make Poverty History campaign, Africa Commission and Gleneagles summit all shared one characteristic: the emphasis was on Western rather than African, action. Top-down, statist, these initiatives were all about donor obligations, pledges and behaviour. What they definitely weren't about – despite token references to the importance of 'good governance' and a supposed pact between North and South – was highlighting the shortcomings of African governments set to benefit from future Western largesse." ~ p.206
"The wristband-wearing activists who linked hands around Edinburgh in solidarity with the the Make Poverty History cause might bask in the glow of moral righteousness, but to John, an unarticulated 'It's Africa, what else can you expect?' lay behind their pitying stance. 'There's a condescending, implicitly racist argument with regard to Africa, which says that "excessive enthusiasm" in the fight against corruption somehow undermines the task of fighting poverty. But corruption, systemic corruption, is the most efficient poverty factor on the continent.'" ~ p.266
"Worried Westerners, who so often seem to fall prey to a benign form of megalomania when it comes to Africa, would do well to accept that salvation is simply not theirs to bestow. They should be more modest, more knowing, and less naïve. They owe it not only to the Western taxpayers who make development organisations' largesse possible, but to Africans whose destinies they attempt to alter." ~ pp.325-6.
"'If you pump money into a system where there is leakage, you are effectively rewarding leakage and disincentivising those trying to stop it,' says Paul Collier. 'Change in Africa can only come from Africans, who are fighting against terrible odds. On the whole, they fail. They end up in exile, or come to a sticky end. If you don't, as a donor, support people like John, you are counteracting their fight for change.'" ~ p.326
October 17, 2010
Once again Michela Wrong's journalistic impressionism and meticulous reporting lights up a neglected corner of a neglected continent. Wrong is a writer with incredible sources and she knows how to weld their information into a compelling story.
The book centers on John Githongo, an idealist in a world where pragmatism ruled. He was appointed as the head of a new anti-corruption agency created by Mwai Kibaki, newly elected president of Kenya. Kibaki was only the third Chief Executive of the east African country, replacing Daniel arap Moi who ruled from 1978 to 2002 and who replaced the revered Jomo Kenyatta, founding father, freedom fighter, hero of African independence.
Kenya, according to Wrong, is structured more by tribe than anything else. Membership in the Kikuyu tribe is more important than citizenship of Kenya, for example. President Kibaki and John Githongo were Kikuyus and Githongo discovered his role in the government was to act as window dressing for donors and foreign governments, to show these very important westerners that the corrupt old days of Moi were over. They weren't, of course. The people pocketing the bribes and kickbacks changed by the method didn't and the more Githongo found out the less popular he became.
Those now in power had the same view of government as those they replaced: it was not to produce public
goods like roads, bridges, markets, irrigation, education, health care, public sanitation, clean drinking water or effective legal systems but to produce private goods for those who hold or have access to political power. Contracts don't go to the low bidder or to the company most able to perform but to whoever offers the largest bribe. The most outrageous example of this is the Anglo Leasing fiasco. Anglo was a company that existed only as an address in Liverpool--it had no plants, no equipment, produced nothing, had no contacts with those who did. It wasn't even a middleman but simply a facade so that when contracts let by the Kenyan government were paid to Kenyan officials the checks weren't made out to the individual politicians. When the government decided to update the printing and tracking of its passports Anglo was given the contact for a bid of 30 million Euros even though a French company with a long list of satisfied clients bid 6 million Euros. But it wasn't just the 500% increase in cost: Anglo Leasing had no capacity to produce passports and had no intention of doing so. They were also given contracts for a forensic lab, military vehicles even a frigate for the navy.
This is a tragic true story of one man's efforts--his obsessed and doomed striving--to vault Kenya from a well oiled kleptocracy that kept its citizens poor while the elites prospered into a functioning democracy.
The book centers on John Githongo, an idealist in a world where pragmatism ruled. He was appointed as the head of a new anti-corruption agency created by Mwai Kibaki, newly elected president of Kenya. Kibaki was only the third Chief Executive of the east African country, replacing Daniel arap Moi who ruled from 1978 to 2002 and who replaced the revered Jomo Kenyatta, founding father, freedom fighter, hero of African independence.
Kenya, according to Wrong, is structured more by tribe than anything else. Membership in the Kikuyu tribe is more important than citizenship of Kenya, for example. President Kibaki and John Githongo were Kikuyus and Githongo discovered his role in the government was to act as window dressing for donors and foreign governments, to show these very important westerners that the corrupt old days of Moi were over. They weren't, of course. The people pocketing the bribes and kickbacks changed by the method didn't and the more Githongo found out the less popular he became.
Those now in power had the same view of government as those they replaced: it was not to produce public
goods like roads, bridges, markets, irrigation, education, health care, public sanitation, clean drinking water or effective legal systems but to produce private goods for those who hold or have access to political power. Contracts don't go to the low bidder or to the company most able to perform but to whoever offers the largest bribe. The most outrageous example of this is the Anglo Leasing fiasco. Anglo was a company that existed only as an address in Liverpool--it had no plants, no equipment, produced nothing, had no contacts with those who did. It wasn't even a middleman but simply a facade so that when contracts let by the Kenyan government were paid to Kenyan officials the checks weren't made out to the individual politicians. When the government decided to update the printing and tracking of its passports Anglo was given the contact for a bid of 30 million Euros even though a French company with a long list of satisfied clients bid 6 million Euros. But it wasn't just the 500% increase in cost: Anglo Leasing had no capacity to produce passports and had no intention of doing so. They were also given contracts for a forensic lab, military vehicles even a frigate for the navy.
This is a tragic true story of one man's efforts--his obsessed and doomed striving--to vault Kenya from a well oiled kleptocracy that kept its citizens poor while the elites prospered into a functioning democracy.
August 4, 2015
There was a mention of Anglo Leasing in the news a couple of weeks ago. I asked my (Kenyan) husband what it was, and he couldn't tell me anything other than some kind of scandal involving high profile politicians. I decided it was time to take this one off my "to read" list.
I found it very well written. The book breezes through a ton of information in quick succession, leaving my mind reeling and needing to process. The main story line covers the 2002 Kenyan elections through the aftermath of the 2007 elections. However, Wrong also briefly delves into Kikuyu history and culture, the personal and family background of the whistleblower, colonial history of Kenya, the Mau Mau rebellion, early political history of Kenya, and a bit about the Goldenberg scandal. It's a lot of ground to cover, and there may be as many tangent chapters as there are main story line chapters, but the history provides important context. For an American living in Kenya, it was very eye opening.
Wrong doesn't mince words, and she is equally critical of western governments (including her own) as she is of Kenya. She ends, not with victory, but with a word of hope. Exposure of Anglo Leasing made a little more progress than exposure of Goldenberg. Maybe the next one will make even more progress.
I found it very well written. The book breezes through a ton of information in quick succession, leaving my mind reeling and needing to process. The main story line covers the 2002 Kenyan elections through the aftermath of the 2007 elections. However, Wrong also briefly delves into Kikuyu history and culture, the personal and family background of the whistleblower, colonial history of Kenya, the Mau Mau rebellion, early political history of Kenya, and a bit about the Goldenberg scandal. It's a lot of ground to cover, and there may be as many tangent chapters as there are main story line chapters, but the history provides important context. For an American living in Kenya, it was very eye opening.
Wrong doesn't mince words, and she is equally critical of western governments (including her own) as she is of Kenya. She ends, not with victory, but with a word of hope. Exposure of Anglo Leasing made a little more progress than exposure of Goldenberg. Maybe the next one will make even more progress.
Read
June 18, 2012 I loved Michela Wrong's book on Mobutu (In The Footsteps Of Mr Kurtz) and generally like books by journalists; I think because I have a short attention span and get impatient with long descriptive passages that don't drive the narrative or communicate information. But thats another story. This story, narrowly, is about John Githongo, who was brought in by the Kibaki government in Kenya to be the anti-corruption czar, but ended up doing his job a little TOO well. He ultimately fled to London and publicly exposed the corruption occuring within Kibaki's inner circle. More broadly the book is about how tribe and ethnicity still simmer below the surface in kenya and other parts of Africa and how this is a huge part of the corruption and governnance problem in some of these countries because loyalty to the group becomes more important than honesty, integrity, etc; -- even for officials who start off wanting to do the right thing. It melds the specific (Githongo's story) and the general (corruption and ethnicity in Kenya) well and declines to lionize Githongo - which I imagine could have been tempting - showing him instead as a complex and flawed person.
August 5, 2009
Pretty fascinating, and discouraging, stuff: a Kenyan whistleblower finds out that the new reformist government is doing exactly what the old one did (the title refers to a general sense that each tribe is just waiting its turn at the trough when friendly politicians get into office), and very few people (foreign governments, the World Bank, people in the government) care for more than a few days. And then the whole thing erupts into violence when the government tries to keep its hand in by stealing an election. It has a lot to say about pomo ethnicity (she blames the British rather than some sort of essentialized "Africanness" for the country's Luo/Kikuyu--most prominently--tensions.) Made me pull that Caroline Elkins book that won all the awards off the shelf as well.
January 21, 2010
This non-fiction work is focused on Kenya from roughly 2000-2007. Much of the writing consists of the story of John Githongo, who was appointed head of the anti-corruption group setup within the Kenyan government when they were voted in in early 2000s. The story discusses John's role in the government and his path that led him to being a self-exiled whistle blower and government corruptions that went all the way to the president. It also addresses the history of tribalism in the country, and ethnic clashes, and how this all played out in the violence around the 2007 elections which were heavily suspected of fraud. Definitely worth reading if this topic is of interest.
February 1, 2016
Picked this up in Nairobi late last year in a bookshop where it was held under the counter and handed over on request only. The bookseller gave me a wry smile and handed it over - a fitting way to purchase such a fascinating book.
Written in a very accesible style, which in places reads like a thriller, it gives someone who's a complete newcomer a captivating introduction to Kenya's more recent history and politics, clearly explaining the context of tribal divides and the legacy of Britain's colonial 'adventure' there as a means to understanding some of the roots of the corruption which one man seeks to expose.. Highly recommended, has definitely encouraged me to read more on Kenya.
Written in a very accesible style, which in places reads like a thriller, it gives someone who's a complete newcomer a captivating introduction to Kenya's more recent history and politics, clearly explaining the context of tribal divides and the legacy of Britain's colonial 'adventure' there as a means to understanding some of the roots of the corruption which one man seeks to expose.. Highly recommended, has definitely encouraged me to read more on Kenya.
February 8, 2019
This book was recommended to me earlier this year when I was assigned a project in Kenya, and it was totally worth the read. What sets out to be the story of Kenya's first whistleblower and a typical corruption scandal quickly develops into the story of Kenya - the country's experience of colonialism, ethnic rivalries, international development politics, elite capture, youth activism, religion, class and social identities and much more. All of this is brought together seamlessly thanks to the writing, which is so gripping, detailed and lucid. This is a must-read for anyone who wants to learn about Kenya or interested in working in the international development sector.
February 2, 2013
This book is an interesting and a sad reflection on the problems in Africa, dealing in this instance mainly with Kenya. The western world would appear to be more than happy to appease its conscience giving billions of dollars in aid to African countries. Whether these donations actually reach grass roots level is a debatable point. A rather sad indictment of the endemic corruption so prevalent in many governments and so called charitable institutions, not just in Africa.
January 6, 2016
A must read for all those who were wearing those white make poverty history bands.
Bought and read this book while in Kenya. 7 years after this book was printed, Locals and the media are still talking about corruption and inequality amongst the tribes in Kenya.
3 stars because the story about John Githongo the main character gets a bit repetitive and not as exciting as the topic of mass corruption in the Kibaki government that this book floats in.
Bought and read this book while in Kenya. 7 years after this book was printed, Locals and the media are still talking about corruption and inequality amongst the tribes in Kenya.
3 stars because the story about John Githongo the main character gets a bit repetitive and not as exciting as the topic of mass corruption in the Kibaki government that this book floats in.
October 16, 2018
Michela Wrong is a vivid writer who seemingly has a great grasp of the Kenyan daily life. This book is well researched and the anecdotes painstakingly retold to make sense to any reader. For a Kenyan, you will uncover more than a few eye-opening truths about how the country is run. This book helps you understand why things are in Kenya while putting into perspective the magnitude of the work that needs to be done to root out corruption.
June 23, 2011
Read this for the Accra Book Club, and found it fascinating. I don't know much about Kenya, and especially it's recent history, or some of the ethnic issues, so those aspects were interesting. The portrait of John Githongo, the whistleblower, was also pretty perceptive, and in the end, a little depressing.
September 28, 2014
Explore the dark belly of development funds, government corruption and what it takes to be a high stakes whistleblower. While this book is focused on Kenya, it’s really a highly illustrative condemnation of a rot that can be found in many other countries. A fascinating book, it reads like a thriller. I highly recommend it.
May 26, 2013
Nice, basic summary of Kenyan history and politics post-independence. She tends to generalize though, and criticizes Kenyans for stereotyping while subscribing to stereotypes herself.
I'm also a bit unsure of her fairly uncritical praise of John Githongo.
I'm also a bit unsure of her fairly uncritical praise of John Githongo.
August 5, 2013
While parts of this are wonderfully written and engaging, overall I felt it was disjointed and lacked flow, which made it difficult to get through. I enjoyed Wrong's earlier book, I Didn't Do It For You, much more than this one.
August 22, 2018
Very eye-opening book about Kenya's corrupt food chain.
July 9, 2021
I was NOT able to find this book in any bookstore in Nairobi, though they seemed to carry every other Michela Wrong book. According to the author, this is the most-pirated book in Kenyan history due to it being "deemed 'too hot to handle' by Kenya's Asian booksellers".
A rip-roaring examination of political corruption in Kenya. Most interesting for me were the sections on how World Bank members and international donors ignore blatant corruption, partially because they have a mandate to spend money and need relatively honest-seeming governments to give it to.
I liked this sentence: "Humanitarian organisations may talk about making themselves redundant, but their annual reports rarely boast about offices closed or staff laid off."
And also: "[The UK's] baby-faced foreign and development ministers are probably more familiar with the Arctic Monkeys' back catalogue than with the history of the Mau Mau."
This quote from a Kenyan during the 2007 post-election violence is sobering "What you have to realise is that Kenyans don't really believe in democracy." - this seems to be the sentiment among Kenyans I've talked about politics with.
A rip-roaring examination of political corruption in Kenya. Most interesting for me were the sections on how World Bank members and international donors ignore blatant corruption, partially because they have a mandate to spend money and need relatively honest-seeming governments to give it to.
I liked this sentence: "Humanitarian organisations may talk about making themselves redundant, but their annual reports rarely boast about offices closed or staff laid off."
And also: "[The UK's] baby-faced foreign and development ministers are probably more familiar with the Arctic Monkeys' back catalogue than with the history of the Mau Mau."
This quote from a Kenyan during the 2007 post-election violence is sobering "What you have to realise is that Kenyans don't really believe in democracy." - this seems to be the sentiment among Kenyans I've talked about politics with.
June 23, 2019
This book summarises not only the Kenyan’s story but probably most of Africans country's story on corruption. If only Githongo’s efforts were appreciated, this would have set a precedent in the war against corruption.
While I read this book Tanzanian president comes to mind, his efforts to fight corruption were taken lightly at the beginning, but I think he may be into something.
It's a good book I would recommend to be turned into a teaching book, so students learn of the courageous Mr. John Githongo and inspired to fight corruption.
While I read this book Tanzanian president comes to mind, his efforts to fight corruption were taken lightly at the beginning, but I think he may be into something.
It's a good book I would recommend to be turned into a teaching book, so students learn of the courageous Mr. John Githongo and inspired to fight corruption.
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