African Whistle-blowers: fighting corruption from the inside

Africa Talks public lecture

Efforts to tackle corruption in Africa tend to focus on international initiatives, but it is local struggles for public accountability that often have the most impact. This panel brings together two prominent African whistle-blowers whose efforts to expose abuse of office in Kenya and Senegal have shaken up covert arrangements in the highest echelons of power, often at great personal risk. The speakers have catalysed a public outcry against the culture of impunity in their respective countries, mobilizing local norms of justice and accountability in the battle against corruption. Their experiences raise questions about cultural interpretations of corruption, and offer new perspectives on the path to good governance in the African context.

Abdou Latif Coulibaly is a leading journalist and publisher of the critical weekly magazine, La Gazette. He is also the director of the Institut superieur des sciences de l’information et de la communication (ISSIC), the first private school of journalism in Senegal. Mr. Coulibaly is an authoritative political commentator, known worldwide for his acerbic articles and books on public affairs and political corruption in Senegal. His recent books include exposés of corruption scandals and political assassinations under the auspices of the current Senegalese president Abdoulaye Wade.

John Githongo, a former journalist and management consultant, was the Kenyan Permanent Secretary in charge of Governance and Ethics from 2003-2005, and a founding member of the Kenyan chapter of Transparency International. He is best known for exposing a major corruption scandal in the government of President Mwai Kibaki, which has earned him the title ‘Kenya’s anti-corruption tsar’. He has worked as a consultant and advisor to international organizations and NGOs, as well as being a senior associate member of St. Antony’s College, Oxford, and currently heads Inuka, a grassroots advocacy group dedicated to facilitating governance reforms from below.

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