People accused of corruption should be offered amnesty, former Ethics chief John Githongo said on Wednesday.

However, amnesty can only come with full confession and voluntary surrender of stolen wealth, he said.

Kenya cannot afford to lose the war against corruption, he said, and an amnesty - "however unpalatable and distasteful as it looks" - was the most practical way to close old cases.

Mr Githongo went on: "It is a big hot issue in the world because the blunt object of prosecution only causes delays."

The one time anti-corruption czar, who flew back in the country on Tuesday night after three years of self-exile in the United Kingdom, said he was excited on his return, and submitted that he was ready to assist the Grand Coalition Government take measures that will end corruption and also solve old scandals.

"I have come back home a humbled servant thankful that there is peace, and I am prayerful for peace. I don't pretend to have solutions, but one thing is clear: the war against corruption is best fought at home and that is why I am back," he said.

The former permanent secretary for Ethics and Governance worked from State House reporting directly to President Kibaki, until he fled the country three years ago, expressing fears for his life after exposing the Anglo Leasing scandal.

He raised the thorny issue of amnesty, saying, it was the most practical method of closing old cases of corruption.

The former PS had just been described as the "hope of Kenyans" and "a principled man in the war against corruption" by members of civil society, who crowded a meeting room at the Hilton Hotel.

Participants at the forum organised by the Kenya Human Rights Commission were mainly drawn from civil society and NGOs that have campaigned against corruption and bad governance.

At the high table were KHRC chairman Makau Mutua of the State University of New York, vice-chairperson Betty Murungi, executive director Muthoni Wanyeki and former Transparency International Kenya boss Gladwell Otieno who is now the executive director of the Africa Centre for Open Governance.

A few minutes after he had walked into the hall at 3.07pm, Mr Githongo noticed veteran activist Mrs Wambui Otieno-Mbugua and went over to give her a long hug in her wheel chair as her youthful husband Peter Mbugua looked on.

Dressed in black trousers and a casual shirt, a smiling Githongo walked back to the high table to wait for formalities before telling his side of the story on Anglo Leasing and other corruption cases.

Prof Mutua opened proceedings by praising Mr Githongo's role in fighting corruption when he served as the President's adviser on governance.

The university don, who served as Mr Githongo's legal advisor while in exile, told off politicians who vilified the former PS for seeking exile in the UK and said that if his initiatives had been implemented, perhaps the country could have been spared horrendous political violence that rocked it at the beginning of the year.

"You spoke of reforms and came up with a lot of initiatives during your time. If they had been carried out, perhaps the violence that we saw the beginning of this year could have been avoided," he said.

Mr Githongo said that his homecoming was not meant to shake the Grand Coalition Government, but to share his thoughts on fighting corruption, putting in place good governance and fashioning economic policies that will lift all Kenyans from poverty.

No apologies

Mr Githongo said he had no apologies for the disclosures and the recordings of high level Government officials while he was PS, "because those things continue to haunt us and our leaders, and they should never cause a paralysis as we make decisions for the future," he said.

The former PS proposed economic amnesty as the fastest method of ending a retinue of corruption cases that had blighted the Kanu, Narc and Grand Coalition administrations.

"However unpalatable and distasteful as it looks, we need economic amnesty. It is a big hot issue in the world because the blunt object of prosecution only causes delays. Adoption of amnesty is the truth in other parts of the world and can easily be used to shut down past cases," he said.

But he added that blanket amnesty was counter-productive and gave the example of the surrender of the Grand Regency Hotel by businessman Kamlesh Pattni that has ended up in controversy.

Spells confessions

A clear procedure that spells confessions and surrender of irregularly acquired property, he said, must be put in place.

"Those who have swindled the country should be ready to make full disclosures in a transparent manner on the basis of local and international instruments so that Kenyans know what it is being done," he said.

"During my time, I found out that those suspected of corruption preferred to be taken to court where they could present highly paid lawyers who specialise in delaying cases.

"These are the realities; blunt realities which are a travesty to poor Kenyans," he said.