John Githongo: Uhuru’s legacy in fighting corruption not Big 4 agenda

Anti-corruption crusader John Githongo says that President Uhuru Kenyatta needs to focus more on battling corruption than overseeing the Big Four agenda in his second and final term in office.

Speaking during an interview on Citizen’s TV  Tuesday edition of DayBreak, Githongo revealed that he was encouraged by the president’s initial efforts to tackle graft in the country.

“I feel encouraged with the president’s efforts to combat corruption. He is losing friends, he needs to lose a few more but we are not out of the woods yet. I think we are seeing the beginning of positive fight against corruption,” said Githongo.

Githongo also believes that the president’s legacy lies in fighting graft and not the full implementation of the Big Four Agenda.

“The president must recognise that this is his last term constitutionally and if he wants a legacy, it is not the Big Four agenda, it’s dealing with corruption,” said Githongo.

“It is not only his legacy but our history as a country since the history of Kenya is intertwined with the Kenyatta family. If Uhuru blows it, he blows it for that name. I would like to think that he can recover that by leaving a legacy of having at least laid a good foundation against the fight against corruption.”

The CEO of Inuka Limited further reiterated that the president has to make important changes in his administration; especially the Cabinet, if the war on graft is going to prove successful.

“The president has to make tough decisions around individuals like Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich at Treasury and former DPP Keriako Tobiko who was promoted into the Cabinet. How does Bwana Tobiko get promoted after doing a lackluster job as the Director of Public Prosecution?” Githongo wondered.

“He (the president) should get rid of some friends he has in cabinet!”

Githongo also conceded that Mr. Kenyatta’s effort is having an effect on other parties in government whose mandate is fighting graft especially the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission which he (Githongo) has been critical of in the past.

“The old order has slightly changed. I think the new order of the DCI, DPP and the Attorney General has changed positively and it has kick-started the EACC as well,” said Githongo.

“I have raised a lot of questions about the commission (EACC) in the past but with a little bit of competition they seem to have upped their game. They almost seem to be competing with the DCI and that is encouraging,” he said.