Former Anti corruption czar
John Githongo appeared to distance himself
once again from the Anglo-Leasing case after he told a Nairobi court he acted out of pressure from former President Mwai Kibaki.
He told trial magistrate Martha Mutuku he was not an investigator, but had to do what he did.
“The President called me. I was under pressure to get an answer. I had to call people to get answers, ” Githongo said on oath.
He told the court he blew the whistle after he failed to confirm the validity of the registration of companies in the contract.
At one point, Githongo attempted
to give a document
which he claimed had been
provided by former anti-corruption chief Aaron Ringera.
Prosecutor Nicholas Mutuku stopped Githongo from handing over
the document, and asked the court to expunge his evidence.
Githongo further said he had never seen the contract between Infotalent
and the government, and saw it the first time in court.
“What I saw at the Office of the President was only a draft not signed by the Government of Kenya,” Githongo said.
While being cross-examined by lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi, Githongo was at pains to explain whether he bothered to look for information regarding the companies in the contract.
Ahmednasir showed Githongo
a certificate of
incumbency which shows Infotalent
is a reputable
firm registered in Britain Virgin Islands.
Githongo acknowledged that there were discrepancies regarding the information he shared several times concerning the Anglo-Leasing contract.
He said he performed an advisory role to the President, and he was not pressured in the service of his duties.
Githongo said he did not personally carry out a search at the registry in regard to Infotalent.
On the contract, he said what he saw was not fully executed.
The former PS was testifying in a case in which the late former Finance minister David Mwiraria, two former PSs Joseph Magari and Dave Mwangi, David Onyonka and two businessmen Deepak and Rashmi Kamani, have been charged with conspiring to defraud the government 59.7 euros (Sh6.8 billion) through a contract meant to upgrade police equipment.
The case was adjourned until July 24.
Githongo was in January 2003 appointed to the position of Permanent Secretary for Governance and Ethics.
He resigned in 2005.