MICHELA WRONG (UK) AND JUDY KIBINGE (KENYA): WRITING ABOUT WHISTLEBLOWERS

This session brings together two writers who have helped to expose grand corruption in Kenya through the stories of two of Kenya’s most famous whistleblowers — John Githongo and David Munyakei. Daily Nation columnist Rasna Warah and online publisher, Andrea Bohnstedt, will be chairing what promises to be a very lively discussion with Michela Wrong, author of the controversial book It’s Our Turn to Eat, and filmmaker Judy Kibinge, whose short film on the Goldenberg whistleblower, The Man Who Knew Too Much, has been widely acclaimed.

Michela Wrong, a former correspondent with the Financial Times, has also authored two other books on Africa, namely, In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz and I Didn’t Do It For You. Judy has made several films and has also been published in various magazines, including Kwani? and the BBC’s Focus on Africa.

Michela Wrong has spent the last 16 years reporting on Africa. As a correspondent for Reuters news agency, based in first Cote d’Ivoire and then Zaire, she covered the turbulent mid 1990s, including the fall of Mobutu Sese Seko and the fallout from Rwanda’s genocide. She then moved to Kenya, where she became Africa correspondent for the Financial Times. In 2000 she published her first book, “In the Footsteps of Mr Kurtz”, which won a PEN prize for non-fiction. Her second book, “I didn’t do it for you”, focused on the Red Sea nation of Eritrea. Her third book, “It’s Our Turn to Eat”, tracks the story of Kenyan corruption whistleblower John Githongo. It has been described as reading “like a cross between Le Carre and Solzhenitsyn” and was shortlisted for the Orwell Prize.”

Judy Kibinge is a filmmaker, writer and artist who lives in Nairobi. She worked at McCann Ericsson Kenya for eight years, three and a half as the first black Creative Director in Kenya. She quit advertising in 1999 to pursue a career in film, and has since produced numerous corporate documentaries shot across the continent. She has also written screenplays for and directed short films for MNET. In 2003, her film, Dangerous Affair, won the overall prize at the Zanzibar Film Festival. Judy co-founded and now works for a multimedia hot shop company called Seven. She is a member of Concerned Kenyan Writers.

Rasna Warah, a columnist with the Daily Nation, recently edited and published Missionaries, Mercenaries and Misfits, an anthology that critiques the development industry in East Africa. A former editor and writer with UN-HABITAT, Rasna has also written widely on urban issues and has had her work published in various national and international journals and magazines.

Andrea Bohnstedt is a professionally nosy person: She publishes www.ratio-magazine.com, an online East Africa business magazine, and does country risk analysis and due diligence work for corporate clients. She is also a columnist for the Star newspaper and a regular contributor to CNBC Africa’s ‘Behind the Headlines’ segment.