The Watchers (Aramaic, עִירִין iyrin) is a term found in the Old Testament Book of Daniel, and later sources, which is connected to angels. In Daniel, these are obedient angels, in the Book of Enoch they are referred to as fallen angels.

Daniel[link]

In Daniel 4:13, 17, 23 there are three references made to the class of "watcher, holy one" (watcher, Aramaic `iyr, holy one Aramaic qaddiysh). The term is introduced by Nebuchadnezzar who describes how he saw "a watcher, a holy one come down (singular verb) from heaven." The singular verb indicates that "a watcher, a holy one" are two titles for the same being or class of being. Nebuchadnezzar then describes how in his dream the watcher says that Nebuchadnezzar will eat grass and be mad and that this punishment is "by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones" in order that "the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men." After hearing the king's dream Daniel considers for an hour and then responds:

Daniel 4:23 And whereas the king saw a watcher, a holy one coming down from heaven, and saying, Hew the tree down, and destroy it; yet leave the stump of the roots thereof in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and [let] his portion [be] with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him; KJV

The presentation in Daniel of these "watchers, holy ones" may be a depiction of Babylonian religion, that is an attempt by the author of this section of Daniel to present Nebuchadnezzar's Babylonian gods recognising the power of the God of Israel as "Most High."^[1] The version of this dream and its interpretation differs from the Aramaic of the Massoretic Text to the Greek of the Septuagint. For example in the Aramaic text it is ambiguous who is telling the story of verse 14, whether it is Nebuchadnezzar himself, or the watcher in his dream.^[2]

Dead Sea Scrolls and Pseudepigrapha[link]

Book of Enoch[link]

The term "Watchers," is common in the Book of Enoch found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the Book of the Watchers is the name for one section of the book (1 Enoch 6-36). It occurs in the Aramaic fragments in the phrase irin we-qadishin, "Watchers and Holy Ones", known from Aramaic Daniel.^[3] The Aramaic irin "watchers" is rendered as "angel" (Greek angelos, Coptic malah) in the Greek and Ethiopian translations, although the usual Aramaic term for angel malakha does not occur in Aramaic Enoch.^[4] The dating of this section of 1 Enoch is around 2nd-1st Century BCE. This book is based on one interpretation of the Sons of God passage in Genesis 6, according to which angels married with human females, giving rise to a race of hybrids known as the Nephilim. The term irin is primarily applied to disobedient Watchers who numbered a total of 200, and of whom their leaders are named, but equally Aramaic iri ("watcher" singular) is also applied to the obedient archangels who chain them, such as Raphael (1 Enoch 22:6).

Genesis 6, the Sons of God[link]

The watchers story in Enoch derives from the sixth chapter Genesis, where the "Origin of the Nephilim" is described and the "Sons of God" who beget them are mentioned:

When men began to multiply on earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw how beautiful the daughters of man were, and so they took for their wives as many of them as they chose. Then the Lord said: "My spirit shall not remain in man forever, since he is but flesh. His days shall comprise one hundred and twenty years." At that time the Nephilim appeared on earth (as well as later), after the sons of God had intercourse with the daughters of man, who bore them sons. They were the heroes of old, the men of renown. (Genesis 6:1-4)

Here, the "sons of God" are given no specific name or function; they could represent fallen angels, heavenly beings that mate with human women. The Book of Enoch regards these as the same angels who are referred to as the Benei Ha-Elohim (Eng. Sons of God) in the Book of Genesis. According to this belief, their sins filled the Earth with violence and the world was destroyed as a result of their intervention.

Names of 1 Enoch Watchers[link]

In the Book of Enoch, the watchers are angels dispatched to Earth to watch over the humans. They soon begin to lust for human women, and at the prodding of their leader Samyaza, they defect en masse to illicitly instruct and procreate among humanity. The offspring of these unions are the Nephilim, savage giants who pillage the earth and endanger humanity. Samyaza and associates further taught their human charges arts and technologies such as weaponry, cosmetics, mirrors, sorcery, and other techniques that would otherwise be discovered gradually over time by humans, not foisted upon them all at once. Eventually God allows a Great Flood to rid the earth of the Nephilim, but first sends Uriel to warn Noah so as not to eradicate the human race. While Genesis says that the Nephilim remained "on the earth" even after the Great Flood, Jude says that the Watchers themselves are bound "in the valleys of the Earth" until Judgment Day. (See Genesis 6:4 and Jude 1:6, respectively)

There are 20 leaders in the Book of Enoch also called 1 Enoch the section that mentions them reads:

These are the leaders of 200 angels in 1 Enoch that are turned into fallen Angels because they took wives, mated with human women, and taught forbidden knowledge.

• Araqiel (also Arakiel, Araqael, Araciel, Arqael, Sarquael, Arkiel, Arkas) ^[5] taught humans the signs of the earth. However, in the Sibylline Oracles, Araqiel is referred to not as a fallen angel, or Watcher, but as one of the 5 angels who lead the souls of men to judgement, the other 4 being Ramiel, Uriel, Samiel, and Azazel.
• Armaros (also Amaros) in Enoch I taught men the resolving of enchantments.
• Azazel^[6] taught men to make knives, swords, shields, and how to devise ornaments and cosmetics.
• Gadriel taught the art of cosmetics.
• Baraqel (Baraqiel) taught men astrology^[7]
• Bezaliel mentioned in Enoch I, left out of most translations because of damaged manuscripts and problematic transmission of the text.
• Chazaqiel (sometimes Ezeqeel) taught men the signs of the clouds (meteorology).^[5]
• Kokabiel (also Kakabel, Kochbiel, Kokbiel, Kabaiel, and Kochab),^[8] is a high-ranking, holy angel but, in general apocryphal lore and also in Enoch I, he is a fallen Watcher, resident of nether realms, and commands 365,000 surrogate spirits to do his bidding. Among other duties, he instructs his fellows in astrology.
• Penemue^[9] "taught mankind the art of writing with ink and paper," and taught "the children of men the bitter and the sweet and the secrets of wisdom."
• Sariel (also Suriel) taught mankind about the courses of the moon (at one time regarded as forbidden knowledge).^[10]
• Samyaza (also Shemyazaz, Shamazya, Semiaza, Shemhazi, Semyaza and Amezyarak) is one of the leaders of the fall from heaven.^[11]
• Shamsiel, once a guardian of Eden,^[12] served as one of the 2 chief aides to the archangel Uriel (the other aide being Hasdiel) when Uriel bore his standard into battle, and is the head of 365 legions of angels and also crowns prayers, accompanying them to the 5th heaven. He is referred to^[13] as one of the Watchers. He is a fallen angel who teaches the signs of the sun.^[14]

Damascus Document (CD)[link]

A reference to the "fall of the watchers from heaven" is found in Hebrew in the Damascus Document 2:18 echoing 1 Enoch 13:10.^[15]

Jubilees[link]

The term "Watchers" appears also in some other Enochic texts counted among the "Old Testament Pseudepigrapha," specifically in the Book of Jubilees (Jub. 4:15, 5:1), and Slavonic Enoch.

Slavonic Enoch[link]

The Greek term egrḗgoroi (ἐγρήγοροι)) or Grigori is transliterated into Slavonic in the Second Book of Enoch. In 2 Enoch 18 (Slavonic Enoch) the "Grigori" (egregoroi) are located in the fifth heaven, and from among them 200 princes fall.^[15]

Rabbinical and later literature[link]

Zohar[link]

The Zohar makes reference to the "watchers" of Nebuchadnezzar's dream.

Christian writers[link]

Some early Christian writers accepted the interpretation in the Book of Enoch of the sons of God in Genesis and made reference to "watchers."^{[citation needed]} Generally, later theologians, such as Augustine, interpreted the Genesis "sons of God" as referring to the descendants of Seth and the "daughters of man", in turn referring to the descendants of Cain.^[16][17] This "Sethian" interpretation is found in Byzantine and Syriac traditions such as the Kitab al-Magall.^[18]

Clement of Alexandria, influenced by Hellenistic cosmology, attributed the movement of the stars and the control of the four elements to angelic beings. Sinistrari attributed bodies of fire, air, earth, and water to these beings, and concluded that the "watchers" were made of fire and air^{[citation needed]}. Cardinal Newman, writing in the mid-19th century, proposed that certain angels existed who were neither totally good nor evil, and had only "partially fallen" from the Heavens.

In modern times various writers have written on 1 Enoch's story of the fallen angels for the mass market.^[19][20]

References[link]

John Githongo (born 1965) is a former Kenyan journalist who investigated bribery and fraud in his home country and later, under the presidency of Mwai Kibaki, took on an official governmental position to fight corruption. In 2005 he left that position, later accusing top ministers of large-scale fraud. The story of his fight against corruption is told in Michela Wrong's book It's Our Turn to Eat: The Story of a Kenyan Whistle-Blower.^[1]

His father Joe Githongo owned an accounting firm, President Jomo Kenyatta being one of its clients.^[2] John Githongo went to the prestigious St. Mary's School in Nairobi. .^[2] He studied Economics and Philosophy at the University of Wales before returning to his native Kenya. He briefly worked as a management consultant and researcher before moving into journalism.^[3] In this role he wrote extensively for the Nairobi-based EastAfrican and Executive magazine, attacking corruption throughout Kenyan society under the Moi regime. He was also a correspondent for the British Journal the Economist and wrote for a range of local and international papers as well. In the 1990s he received the CNN African Journalist of the year award (third prize). ^[4]

Transparency International[link]

Following in his father's footsteps he joined the Transparency International movement. He founded and served as founder-Executive Director of the Kenyan chapter of Transparency International in 1999 after years of the government refusing it registration. He also served a board member of Transparency International in Berlin.

SAREAT[link]

In 1998, political scientist Mutahi Ngunyi's NGO - Series for Alternative Research in East Africa (SAREAT) funded by the Ford Foundation, engaged Githongo to edit a regional political economy magazine, East African Alternatives. The magazine folded after operating four issues. This was as a result of audit queries made by Price Waterhouse, and subsequent commercial court action brought against Mr. Ngunyi by the Ford Foundation with Mr. Githongo as a witness on behalf of the prosecution having revealed to Ford the initial problems that led to the audit in the first place. A case was instituted against SAREAT trustees by its donors but was apparently later withdrawn after SAREAT agreed to repay the funds under contention.

Anglo Leasing[link]

In January 2003 he was appointed to the position of Permanent Secretary for Governance and Ethics by the incoming president Kibaki, who had been elected on an anti-corruption platform. He resigned from his position on February 7, 2005^[5] without comment, though it was reported that he felt the government lacked commitment to ending corruption and that he had received death threats.^[6] As a result of his resignation international aid to Kenya was cut. He remains a powerful advocate against corruption.

On 22 January 2006, Githongo named Vice-President Moody Awori as one of four top politicians (with Kiraitu Murungi, former justice minister and present energy minister; finance minister David Mwiraria and former transport minister Chris Murungaru) as being involved in scams worth $600m – known as the Anglo Leasing scandal. He also claimed that President Kibaki was complicit in the affair. The scandal centred around the award of a huge contract given to Anglo-Leasing – a company that did not exist. Githongo claimed that the money raised would have funded the government's forthcoming election campaign. These allegations were denied by Awori and Murungaru and an investigation was promised.^[7]

Exile[link]

Githongo moved to the UK to live in exile after claiming that there have been threats to his life. In a secret cable by the US ambassador in Kenya to Washington dated the 16/9/09, released by Wikileaks, made clear the extent of these threats. In one section the ambassador wrote -

"Paragraph 5 provides details of statements made by Ringera (former head of the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission) to Githongo that Githongo took as direct threats to his life by the Kenyan political elite, to include Ringera. This TD corroborates Githongo’s conclusion about Ringera who is identified in a room with leading Kikuyu politicians, including Ministers of government, plotting to kill Githongo in 2009. The conclusion one can draw from this report, combined with Githongo’s testimony, is that Ringera is part of those within the Kenyan political elite seeking to suppress information and those with information that could assist in punishing and minimizing corruption in Kenya."

Wikileaks ^[8] He took up a post at an Oxford college (Senior Associate Member of St Antony's College). It has also been recently revealed that he taken up an additional position as a Visiting Fellow of the Ottawa-based International Development Research Centre. In an interview with Fergal Keane for the BBC's Newsnight programme on 8 February 2006, Githongo revealed what he claims is taped evidence proving that Kiraitu Murungi attempted to impede his inquiries.^[9][10] Murungi suggested that a 30M Kenyan Shilling loan to his father by a lawyer A.H. Malik had been bought by Anura Pereira, and might be forgiven in exchange for 'going slow' on the Anglo Leasing investigation. He reveals that at the end of his investigations, he came to the inescapeable conclusion that the Anglo Leasing scandal went all the way to the top, and as a consequence his life was in danger. Anglo Leasing, and many other similar deals, were rumored by some people to be back-door financing to pay for NARC's election bid in 2007. While in Britain, Githongo spent two days giving evidence to a delegation of Kenyan MPs who were investigating the scandal. Both parties were positive about the outcomes of the meetings.^[11]

Allegations of spying[link]

Throughout the saga allegations about the sophisticated nature of the Githongo recordings and the reason and extent for the involvement of the British Embassy have been subject to rife speculation.

Dr Murungaru who was also the National security Minister maintains that Githongo was and still is a British spy. On February 10, 2006, Murungi issued a statement that was faxed to all Kenyan media houses questioning the intentions and motives of John Githongo, in the form of 36 questions. Minister Murungaru was demoted as a result of Mr. Githongo's allegations and rejected by his own constituents during the 2007 general election. In 2006, Murungaru was banned from all travel to the United Kingdom by the British Home Secretary as a result of his involvement in corruption.

Among the questions asked was why John Githongo was recording his conversations with Government officials and asking how many other conversations he recorded including those with the president. Some who have interviewed Githongo say that in actual fact the President knew about had approved of Githongo's recordings as early as February 2004. Speculation was also rife that Githongo's continued exile was directly related to the spying allegations and the fact that he broke various secrecy laws under the Official Secrets Act, that covered government officials. However, Githongo returned to Kenya in August 2008 and the government did not challenge his allegations or attempt to prosecute him under the Official Secrets Act.

Post-Exile[link]

Githongo returned to Kenya in 2008, and founded an organization called Inuka Kenya Trust, a grassroots advocacy group aimed at creating an informed citizenry. In Jan 2011, Githongo launched a new campaign, Kenya Ni Yetu (Kenya is Ours), aimed at mobilising ordinary people to speak up against corruption, impunity and injustice.^[12] Mr. Githongo was selected as one of the world’s 100 most influential Africans by the London-based New African Magazine in its June 2011 edition. He is an Advisory Board Member of the International Centre for Transitional Justice, NYC, Protimos, UK and a board member of the Africa Centre for Open Governance (AfriCOG), Chair of the board, Africa Institute for Governing with Integrity, Freedom House. He is a Commissioner on the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI), UK. He is a Board Member of Kabissa^[13], an organization that serves the networking, information sharing and ICT peer learning needs of African Civil Society. Previously he has been awarded the African Annual Visionary Award (2009) by the African Centre for Strategic Studies/National Defence University (Washington DC), an honorary PhD (Doctor of the University), The Open University (UK) (2007) and in 2004, the German-Afrika President’s Prize for Leadership.

See also[link]

• Corruption in Kenya
• Goldenberg scandal
• Anglo Leasing Scandal
• Mwai Kibaki
• David Mwiraria

References[link]

External links[link]

• A British spy or whistle-blower
• A fearless Kenyan whistle-blower
• January 2006: John Githongo Joins Kabissa Board of Directors
• New Statesman profile of John Githongo, 2006
• Financial Times profile of John Githongo, 2007
• Kenyan blog the latest on John Githongo
• Audio and transcript of incriminating remarks by David Mwiraria
• [1]