By nominating Professor Githu Muigai to the office of the attorney general (AG), President Mwai Kibaki has accomplished something of a rarity for a meek but sleek politician: he has flipped the finger at Kenyans and flipped the finger at Kikuyu lawyers and all Kenyan women lawyers.

By serendipity, I met John Githongo on 28 February 2011, my last day in Nairobi, where I had been interviewing journalists for a book.