The true story of one man’s fight against corruption: "like a John Le Carré novel” that shows “how and why Kenya descended into political violence” (Washington Post).
In January 2003, Kenya was hailed as a model of democracy after the peaceful election of President Mwai Kibaki. By appointing respected longtime reformer John Githongo as anticorruption czar, the new Kikuyu government signaled its determination to end the shady practices that had tainted the previous regime. Yet only two years later, Githongo himself was on the run, having secretly compiled evidence of official malfeasance throughout the new administration.
Unable to remain silent, Githongo, at great personal risk, made the painful choice to go public. The result was a Kenyan Watergate. Michela Wrong’s account of how a pillar of the establishment turned whistle-blower—instantly becoming one of the most hated and admired men in Kenya—grips like a political thriller while probing the very roots of the nation’s predicament.
“A fast-paced political thriller. . . . Wrong’s gripping, thoughtful book stands as both a tribute to Githongo’s courage and a cautionary tale.” —New York Times Book Review
Michela Wrong has worked as a foreign correspondent for Reuters, the BBC, and the Financial Times. She has written about Africa for Slate.com and is a frequent commentator on African affairs in the media. Her first book, In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz, won the James Stern Silver Pen Award for Nonfiction. She lives in London.
Table of Contents
Map viii
Prologue xi
1 The Big Man 1
2 An Unexpected Guest 21
3 Starting Afresh 33
4 Mucking out the Augean Stables 41
5 Dazzled by the Light 65
6 Pulling the Serpent's Tail 77
7 The Call of the Tribe 99
8 Breaking the Mould 121
9 The Making of the Sheng Generation 145
10 Everything Depends on the Boss 163
11 Gorging Their Fill 183
12 A Form of Mourning 205
13 In Exile 227
14 Spilling the Beans 247
15 Backlash 255
16 A Plaza Paradise 279
17 It's Not Your Turn 295
Epilogue 317
List of Key Characters 336
Glossary 337
Acknowledgements 339
Notes 341
Index 345
What People are Saying About This
Caroline Elkins
“Important and illuminating…Reads like a John Le Carré novel…On a deeper and much richer level, it’s an analysis of how and why Kenya descended into political violence.”
