Podcast Summary

African Whistle-blowers: Fighting Corruption from the Inside

London School of Economics: Public Lectures and Events
Date: October 26, 2010
Main Speaker: John Githongo (Former Permanent Secretary, Governance and Ethics, Kenya; Founding Member, Transparency International - Kenya)
Host: LSE Film and Audio Team; Prof. Thandika Mkandawire

Episode Overview

This episode launches the Africa Talks Program at LSE, focusing on corruption in African politics. It features John Githongo’s personal insights as Kenya’s foremost anti-corruption whistle-blower. Through engaging storytelling and critical analysis, Githongo explores the realities of fighting corruption from within, the structures and cultures that enable it, and the precarious role and fates of African whistle-blowers. The episode delves into the persistent narrative that corruption is an “African way,” the failures of imported anti-corruption frameworks, the powerful role of youth, and Kenya’s constitutional reforms as both a threat and an opportunity for real change.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Moral and Political Complexity of Corruption in Africa

• The discussion opens with Prof. Mkandawire challenging the narrative that African societies are culturally permissive of corruption, using an extended Cameroonian proverb as evidence that cultural proverbs can be misinterpreted to justify corruption.
• Emphasizes the presence of moral resistance to corruption within African societies, countering the idea that it's simply “the African way.”
  • Quote: “It is therefore important when you study corruption in Africa to understand both the corrupt and those who resist corruption.” [05:00, A]

2. Githongo’s Personal Journey: Becoming an Anti-Corruption Whistle-Blower

• Describes the immediate exposure to “soft,” everyday corruption upon taking office, including familial pressure to use his position for personal gain.
• Illustrates how corruption approaches are often insidious rather than overt.
  • Quote: “It’s not in the dramatic, rough way that one gets when you’re talking about extractive industries. It’s a soft, gentle, easy way.” [11:00, B]

3. What Success Looks Like: Moments of Hope and Public Trust

• Recounts specific instances—such as the demolition of illegally built houses and enthusiastic public participation—in which anti-corruption measures saw genuine success, fueled by public optimism and trust in new government.
• Describes a period in early 2003 when ordinary Kenyan citizens were empowered to hold police and officials accountable.
  • Quote: “That’s what anti-corruption is supposed to look like when it’s actually working. When ordinary people take it upon themselves to deal with it.” [19:35, B]

4. Unpacking “The African Way”: Rebutting Cultural Fatalism

• Argues that African cultures historically reserved harsh penalties for theft, contradicting the notion of an inherent cultural proclivity toward corruption.
• Links modern impunity more to colonial legacies and the abuse of authority by chiefs, rather than to indigenous cultural norms.
  • Quote: “I’ve always opposed this idea that there is some cultural proclivity amongst Africans towards corruption… In fact, in African culture, crimes against property often caused the most harsh repercussions.” [23:30, B]

5. The Structural Realities: Youth Bulge and Economic Transformation

• Kenya is experiencing an unprecedented youth bulge, with 80% of the population under 34 and most employed in the informal sector.
• Growing disenfranchisement and unemployment among youth creates a time bomb that, if ignored, leads to social instability and violent outbreaks, as seen during the 2007–2008 post-election violence.
  • Quote: “These youth that we’re talking about are culturally globalized in their expectations and aspirations… When these expectations are dashed, their problems are easily politicized and militarized.” [33:00, B]

6. The “Empowerment” of Violence

• Post-election violence acted as a tragic but transformative experience, giving youth, who felt marginalized, a dangerous sense of agency.
  • Quote: “The post-election violence of 2007-2008 was equivalent to one million youth empowerment workshops.” [41:00, B]

7. Urbanization and Social Change

• While Kenya is still seen as agricultural, rapid urbanization and shifting aspirations are fundamentally changing the social and political landscape.

8. Anti-Corruption in Practice: The “Kenya 101” Model

• Outlines the typical package of anti-corruption reforms promoted across Africa:

  1. Leadership from the Top: Key but insufficient alone.
  2. Legal Reform: Laws and ethics policies.
  3. Institutional Reform: Creation of independent agencies.
  4. International Cooperation: Essential due to global character of grand corruption.
  5. Media & Civil Society Engagement: Critical but double-edged.
  6. Private Sector Involvement: Should be incentivized toward transparency.
  7. Transitional Justice: Dealing with past corruption is fraught, requiring pragmatism (sometimes including amnesty and restitution with strict conditions).

• Critiques reliance on Western, imported “multifunction antibiotics” and calls for homegrown, context-specific accountability mechanisms.

  • Quote: “If we had thought it through more clearly, perhaps we wouldn’t have gone for [these]… multipurpose antibiotic approaches to some of these issues.” [75:51, B]

9. The Limits and Ironies of Anti-Corruption Efforts

• Githongo notes the paradox where, in coalition governments, corruption acts as a binding agent for elites, leading to a chaotic but stable “corruption equilibrium.”
• Warns of the dangers of extractive industries, given that easy resource rents can further entrench corruption. Relief at Kenya’s lack of oil discovery highlights these risks.

10. Kenya’s New Constitutional Moment: Hope and Uncertainty

• Details recent constitutional reforms, acknowledging both genuine hope and the risk of elite capture or donor-driven reforms.
• Presents three scenarios for post-reform Kenya:
  1. Elite Capture: Government of the people, by the elite, for the donors.
  2. Populist Disillusionment and Renewed Violence: Reforms create disappointment and trigger new waves of identity politics and unrest.
  3. Optimistic Judicial Reform: An independent judiciary empowers citizens and holds elites accountable—the “ideal but plausible” outcome.
  • Quote: “Our vigilance and the vigilance of all of Kenya’s friends is very critical at this time. If we miss this boat, then we will face very choppy waters ahead. Otherwise, like a typical Kenyan, I am optimistic about the future.” [69:15, B]

Notable Quotes and Moments with Timestamps

• “Corruption comes at you… It’s a soft, gentle, easy way.” [11:00, B]
• “That’s what anti-corruption is supposed to look like when it’s actually working. When ordinary people take it upon themselves.” [19:35, B]
• “Post-election violence of 2007-2008 was equivalent to 1 million youth empowerment workshops.” [41:00, B]
• “Africans are willing to use all their energy to fight against [corruption].” [26:55, B]
• “No grand corruption… takes place that doesn’t include members of the service sector in the developed world… You cannot steal $10 million… without the help of a lawyer, a banker—maybe around here.” [53:00, B]
• “If we had thought it through more clearly, perhaps we wouldn’t have implemented [imported reforms] in that way… You must come up with your own local solutions, African solutions…” [75:51, B]
• “I would be very careful before getting over-excited by the recent developments… It is early days yet before we can start blowing a horn and saying that we have won even a skirmish in this battle.” [77:10, B]

Key Audience Q&A (71:00–88:35)

Indigenous Solutions vs. Imported Institutions

• Question on the limited effectiveness of imported accountability institutions.
• Githongo agrees on the need for African solutions, reiterating the need to mobilize ordinary people over top-down or Western models.

African Whistle-blowers’ Fate

• Q about whistle-blowers fleeing Africa and often benefiting from international appointments.
• Githongo acknowledges this pattern, but stresses the personal consequences and complexity, including his own experiences.

Current Happenings and Optimism in Kenya

• Questioner (Kenyan) challenges Githongo’s "grim picture" in light of recent prosecutions and anti-corruption efforts.
• Githongo remains cautiously optimistic but skeptical about celebrating early, citing the volatility and political interference that can undermine such progress.

The Private Sector’s Role

• Discussion on predictable corruption as a “tax” for the private sector and how true reform requires shifting incentives.

Legal Protections for Whistle-blowers

• Q about whistleblower protection laws.
• Kenya’s new constitution anticipates these, but their implementation is challenged by the sociopolitical context (witnesses and even entire clans facing collective retribution).

Restitution vs. Prosecution of Major Corrupt Figures

• A question regarding the perceived injustice of settlements with kleptocrats (e.g., Abacha case).
• Githongo: Practical politics sometimes requires amnesty/restoration deals, but should include transparency, restitution, lustration (ban from office), and aggressive prosecution for undisclosed assets.

Aid and Corruption

• Aid is highly fungible and can inadvertently facilitate corruption, but Githongo stresses being “smart” about aid—making it responsive to the realities and cleverness of African elites.

Chinese Investment in Africa

• Positive for infrastructure, but raises concerns about governance and exploitation. Calls for balanced, holistic African engagement—not just as leverage with the West.

Important Timestamps (MM:SS)

• 00:00–07:46: Prof. Mkandawire’s introduction and framing via the Cameroonian proverb.
• 07:46–11:30: Githongo’s personal account: first-hand encounter with corruption.
• 15:45–25:00: Positive anti-corruption moments (trust, demolitions, public participation).
• 33:00–51:00: National crisis: youth bulge, violence, empowerment, urbanization.
• 53:00–58:00: The anatomy of Kenya’s (and Africa’s) anti-corruption strategies.
• 60:00–69:00: Kenya’s constitutional reform: scenarios and future prospects.
• 71:00–88:35: Audience questions and Githongo’s responses on indigenous solutions, current Kenyan reforms, whistleblowers, restitution, aid, and China.
• 69:15, B: Closing optimism and the call for vigilance.

Tone and Language

Githongo’s tone is conversational, pragmatic, occasionally self-deprecating, and always candid. He balances realism about entrenched corruption with stories of hope, stressing the agency of ordinary citizens and youth. Even in critique, he remains optimistic about Kenya’s future and the possibility of constitutional reform.

Conclusion

This episode offers an incisive, lived perspective on the fight against corruption in Africa. Githongo’s analysis dismantles cultural fatalism, refutes the inevitability of African corruption, and highlights both the failures and possibilities inherent in local and international responses. His recommendations stress the empowerment of ordinary people and the critical importance of robust, locally-relevant institutions—all in service of a more accountable, hopeful future.