John Githongo: I never saw final Anglo Leasing contract

Former Governance and Ethics Permanent Secretary in the Office of the President John Githongo testifies in a Nairobi Anti-Corruption court during the hearing of Anglo Leasing case facing five suspects on June 20, 2017. PHOTO | PAUL WAWERU | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Mr Githongo said he had never seen the final contract between Infotalent Ltd and the Government of Kenya.
  • On Tuesday, Mr Githongo was at pains to explain whether he had seen the executed Infotalent Ltd contract.
  • Mr Githongo also attributed the refund of all the money paid to Infotalent to the pressure he had exerted on some of the senior government officials.

Former anti-graft czar John Githongo raised the alarm in 2004 regarding the controversial Anglo Leasing deal after he was shown a contract with only one signature which was yesterday proven in court that it had been a draft.

Mr Githongo, who was the anti-corruption chief in former President Mwai Kibaki’s office, said he had never seen the final contract between Infotalent Ltd and the Government of Kenya.

The only contract he saw was a copy given to him by Provincial Administration Permanent Secretary Dave Mwangi in 2004, which had only the signature of Mr Bradley Charles Birkenfield, without those of government representatives.

INFOTALENT CONTRACT

This was the copy he later passed on to Rtd Justice Aaron Ringera, the director of the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC) at the time.

On Tuesday, Mr Githongo was, however, at pains to explain whether he had seen the executed Infotalent Ltd contract.

When the defence lawyers showed him a document said to be the final contract, Mr Githongo said he had seen it for the first time during pre-trial at the Director of Public Prosecution’s office, and the second time in court on Tuesday.

CONDUCTING INVESTIGATIONS

He said at the time of conducting investigations into the contract, it was found that Infotalent Ltd, which had been picked for the Anglo Leasing E-Cops project, was not a registered company in Switzerland, as had initially been reported.

He said this informed his conclusion that the project was dubious.

Lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi, for the accused, however, put Mr Githongo to task, saying that some of the documents produced by the prosecution reveal that the firm was registered in the British Virgin Island on July 1, 2003, and that it was, therefore, logical that its details could only be found in Britain and not Switzerland.

PRESSURE

Mr Githongo also attributed the refund of all the money paid to Infotalent to the pressure he had exerted on some of the senior government officials who were concerned with the contract.

He told the anti-corruption court that he had put pressure on former Internal Security minister Chris Murungaru, and his permanent secretary, to explain the whereabouts of the funds paid in the contract which the government later cancelled.

The hearing resumes on July 24.