At the start of the 2006 World Bank and International Monetary Fund annual conference at Suntec City in Singapore, whistleblower John Githongo paced restlessly.

He was about to meet journalists, policy makers, politicians and civil society leaders.

But even before his arrival from exile for this key meeting of lenders, the hype was already off the charts.

It had been a year since Mr Githongo fled Kenya in 2005 following threats to his life after exposing the Sh100 billion Anglo Leasing scandal.