John Githongo - Allegations of Spying

Allegations of Spying

Throughout the saga allegations about the sophisticated nature of the Githongo recordings and the reason and extent for the involvement of the British Embassy have been subject to rife speculation.

Dr Murungaru who was also the National security Minister maintains that Githongo was and still is a British spy. On February 10, 2006, Murungi issued a statement that was faxed to all Kenyan media houses questioning the intentions and motives of John Githongo, in the form of 36 questions. Minister Murungaru was demoted as a result of Mr. Githongo's allegations and rejected by his own constituents during the 2007 general election. In 2006, Murungaru was banned from all travel to the United Kingdom by the British Home Secretary as a result of his involvement in corruption.

Among the questions asked was why John Githongo was recording his conversations with Government officials and asking how many other conversations he recorded including those with the president. Some who have interviewed Githongo say that in fact the President knew about had approved of Githongo's recordings as early as February 2004. Speculation was also rife that Githongo's continued exile was directly related to the spying allegations and the fact that he broke various secrecy laws under the Official Secrets Act, that covered government officials. However, Githongo returned to Kenya in August 2008 and the government did not challenge his allegations or attempt to prosecute him under the Official Secrets Act.