Former Ethics and Governance permanent secretary John Githongo suffered a major blow yesterday when the High Court ordered him to pay former Internal Security minister Chris Murungaru Sh27 million for defamation.
Justice Joseph Sergon said Githongo had no evidence to back the allegations he made on Murungaru regarding the multi-billion-shilling Anglo Leasing scandal.
The judge ordered Githongo to pay Murungaru Sh20 million in general damages, Sh5 million in exemplary damages, and Sh2 million in special damages.
The case is connected with the Anglo Leasing scandal in which billions of shillings are believed to have been lost in dubious security printing contracts during President Mwai Kibaki’s administration.
As Kibaki’s adviser on corruption, Githongo had in 2006 prepared a dossier which linked Murungaru, then Vice President Moody Awori, Cabinet ministers Kiraitu Murungi and David Mwiraria to the Anglo Leasing scam.
All the ministers, except Awori, were either dropped or resigned from the Cabinet after the dossier became public.
Githongo had left the country on an official visit to London from where he released the dossier and sought refuge for nearly three years, saying he feared for his life.
He returned to Kenya for the first time in October 2009, a few months after the book “It’s Our Turn to Eat: The Story of a Kenyan Whistle-Blower,” by Michela Wrong was published. The book was a continuation of Githongo’s expose on Anglo Leasing.
Reacting to the judgment, Githongo, in a press statement said he was “disappointed though unsurprised” by the judgment in the matter that has drudged through the courts for 13 years.
“It is my plan to appeal this judgment as vigorously as possible. Unfortunately, the court also disallowed witness evidence in my regard and we have filed my intention to appeal on this basis as well,” he said in the press statement.
He noted that the Anglo Leasing model of misappropriation of resources had continued unabated since 2001 and he will not lose perspective as a result of the judgment.
“I remain committed to continuing the fight against corruption in Kenya and I’m undeterred by distractions engineered by the very thieves stealing from Kenyans,” he stated.