The Brahmin & His Untouchables – Part 1

I’ve just finished reading the book “It’s Our Turn To Eat” and I want to talk about it here because I really have nothing else to talk about right now and they were some interesting revelations, which I’d like to highlight below (for those who may not have time to read 350 pages).  So, let’s begin and I will do it chronologically based on when the information was presented in the book.

Kibaki’s Stroke:

When Kibaki had his first stroke, Githongo went to visit him in the hospital and found Kibaki watching television. He was watching cartoons and according to the book,  Kibaki appeared to be “happily transfixed by the childrens’ programming.”  This “happy trans-fixation” alarmed Githongo quite dramatically, but he never mentioned it publicly.

The Early Signs of Theft:

When Kibaki’s cronies came into office, it didn’t take long for them to start stealing and it also didn’t take long for them to start spending.  Githongo is quoted in the book saying that people around him started buying three properties at once and were handing their wives $100,000 dollars in cash and spending money.  The good times were rolling.

Shady Businessmen:

I recently saw an article in the Nation saying that Kibaki’s hospital bills had been covered by his government insurance policy.  However, from the book, we learn that a shady Cypriot of Sri Lankan descent, a man called Anura Perera, who had previously done lots of business with Moi is the one who covered Kibaki’s medical expenses when Kibaki was in London.  Perera is also the man who benefited from one of the Anglo-leasing contracts.

Mutahi Ngunyi:

Before he worked for Transparency International, Githongo worked for a political magazine called SAREAT (Series For Alternative Research in East Africa Trust).  This magazine was headed by Ngunyi and it was supported in-part with generous reserach grants from the Ford Foundation.  However, Githongo realized that this project was a front for a scam and that it’s local programme officer, a guy named Julius Moyo was plotting (with Ngunyi) to use the front to misappropriate tens of thousands of dollars.  After collecting all the evidence he needed, Githongo resigned from that post and informed the Ford Foundation what Ngunyi and Moyo were upto.  Eventually, Ford sued both Moyo and Ngunyi for the funds they had misappropriated.  Moyo then went on to become Robert Mugabe’s minister of information. Ngunyi has since “transformed” himself into a television analyst, criticizing Kibaki for (gasp!) being corrupt.

Anglo-Leasing & It’s Impact on the Kenyan Economy:

Spying on the Kenyan Government:

In Africa, western surveillance of governments is often sketchy, but this is not the case in Kenya because Kenya is a strategically important country to both Britain and America.  Therefore, it is closely monitored by both countries and a lot of that monitoring involves tapping into the mobile phones of government officials, which is very easy to do for these embassies. So, when Githongo approached Edward Clay with the information he was finding, an embassy staffer told him that they knew a lot more than he did (based on their electronic monitoring of people’s mobile phones & other surveillance techniques that they use).

** I want to add an additional point here based on a story I just read in the Nation.  Apparently, the government is spending $2 million dollars of taxpayer money on a U.S. based public relations firm to try and boost it’s image with the Obama administration.

However, if what is said in this book is true, what the government is doing is a complete waste of money because the U.S. embassy already knows a lot more than the government officials in Kenya think they do.  Perhaps it is also a reason why Odinga & Ruto had a harder time convincing America that the violence after the election was totally spontaneous.  These idiots were under surveillance and they didn’t even know it! Their mobile phones have all been tapped.

To be Continued….

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