Anglo-leasing allegations ruined my life, says former minister Chris Murungaru

By Wilfred Ayaga

Nairobi, Kenya: Former Internal Security minister Chris Murungaru has recounted the tribulations that he suffered after allegations were made linking him to the Anglo-leasing scandal.

Dr Murungaru said the damning allegations ruined his political and private life, leading to his being dropped from the Cabinet and losing the Kieni parliamentary seat, and recently the Nyeri senatorial position.

Murungaru told Justice David Onyancha that a dossier prepared by former Governance and Ethics Permanent Secretary John Githongo, in which he was accused of involvement in the awarding of dubious security contracts, was designed to destroy him and ruin his reputation.

Murungaru accused Githongo of engineering a campaign that saw him lose the parliamentary seat. He said apart from suffering political setbacks, he was also ridiculed by the media and the public.

“The contents of the report had a devastating effect on my political career. A man who had been elected twice in Kieni Constituency in a landslide win lost his re-election in 2007 to a little known new comer,” Murungaru told the court.

The former minister was testifying in a case in which he has sued Githongo for defamation for linking him to the Anglo-leasing scandal.