It's Our Turn to Eat: The Story of a Kenyan Whistleblower - Softcover

Wrong, Michela

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0007241976 ISBN 13: 9780007241972

Publisher: Harper Perennial, 2010

Synopsis

A gripping account of both an individual caught on the horns of an excruciating moral dilemma and a continent at a turning point.

When Michela Wrong’s Kenyan friend John Githongo appeared one cold February morning on the doorstep of her London flat, carrying a small mountain of luggage, it was clear something had gone very wrong in a country regarded until then as one of Africa’s few budding success stories.

Two years earlier, in the wave of euphoria that followed the election defeat of long-serving President Daniel arap Moi, John had been appointed Kenya’s new anti-corruption czar. In choosing this giant of a man, respected as a longstanding anti-corruption crusader, the new government was signalling that it was set on ending the practices that had made Kenya an international by-word for sleaze.

Now John was on the run, having realised that the new administration, far from breaking with the past, was using near-identical techniques to pilfer public funds. John’s tale, which has all the elements of a political thriller, is the story of how a brave man came to make a lonely decision with huge ramifications. But his story transcends the personal, touching as it does on the cultural, historical and social themes that lie at the heart of the continent’s continuing crisis.

Tracking this story of an African whistleblower, Michela Wrong seeks answers to the questions that have puzzled outsiders for decades. What is it about African society that makes corruption so hard to eradicate, so sweeping in its scope, so destructive in its impact? Why have so many African presidents found it so easy to reduce all political discussion to the self-serving calculation of which tribe gets to ‘eat’? And at what stage will Africans start placing the wider interests of their nation ahead of the narrow interests of their tribe?

About this title

Review:

‘A down-to-earth yet sophisticated expose of how an entire country can be munched in the clammy claws of corruption.’ The Economist, BOOKS OF THE YEAR

‘A lively and detailed account of the looting of Kenya by its politicians...A shocking tale told with verve and suspense.’ The Times

‘An exceptionally talented writer...More than a story about a whistle-blower, and more than about Kenya. It could have been written anywhere where corruption is endemic.’ Guardian

‘The story offers a fascinating insight into Kenya and is a thrilling whodunit, worthy of John Le Carre.’ the london paper

‘Michella Wrong has written a compelling book. Well researched, poignant.’ Graham Boyton, Daily Telegraph

‘A gripping new biography-cum-thriller.’ Evening Standard

From the Back Cover:

In January 2003, Kenya—seen as the most stable country in Africa—was hailed as a model of democracy after the peaceful election of its new president, Mwai Kibaki. By appointing respected longtime reformer John Githongo as anticorruption czar, the new Kikuyu government signaled its determination to end the corrupt practices that had tainted the previous regime. Yet only two years later, Githongo himself was on the run, having discovered that the new administration was ruthlessly pillaging public funds.

"Under former President Moi, his Kalenjin tribesmen ate. Now it's our turn to eat," politicians and civil servants close to the president told Githongo. As a member of the government and the president's own Kikuyu tribe, Githongo was expected to cooperate. But he refused to be bound by ethnic loyalty. Githongo had secretly compiled evidence of official malfeasance and, at great personal risk, made the painful choice to go public. The result was Kenya's version of Watergate.

Michela Wrong's account of how a pillar of the establishment turned whistle-blower, becoming simultaneously one of the most hated and admired men in Kenya, grips like a political thriller. At the same time, by exploring the factors that continue to blight Africa—ethnic favoritism, government corruption, and the smug complacency of Western donor nations—It's Our Turn to Eat probes the very roots of the continent's predicament. It is a story that no one concerned with our global future can afford to miss.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0007241976
• ISBN 13: 9780007241972
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 368