On the night of Thursday, May 5, 2016, Jacob Juma, a prominent Kenyan businessman and a fierce critic of the Jubilee government led by then-President Uhuru Kenyatta, was shot dead.
According to police reports, Juma was driving from his bar in Westlands to his home in Karen around 9:30 PM when he was attacked by assailants near Lenana School along Ngong Road. At the time, he was driving a bulletproof Mercedes-Benz.
His car was discovered in a ditch with at least ten bullet holes, primarily on the driver’s side.
A postmortem revealed that Juma was killed by two bullets to the chest, fired at close range, along with five additional bullets to his neck.
His right hand showed signs of a struggle, indicating that he had resisted his attackers. The car’s bulletproof window was shattered with a blunt object, likely a hammer, as the bullets could not penetrate it.
Hours before Jacob Juma was killed, investigations and CCTV footage revealed that he was in the company of a woman in his Mercedes-Benz earlier that evening.
Jacob Juma Assassinated
The footage captured them driving through Nairobi, specifically along Waiyaki Way toward the CBD, between 7:34 PM and 8:14 PM. After Juma’s death, the woman was interrogated by investigators and stated that she had met Juma at lunchtime on the day of his murder and agreed to meet later that evening.
She claimed Juma dropped her off at Rose Apartments on Brookside Drive by taxi after they parted ways around 8:00 PM, before he continued towards his home in Karen, where he was killed at around 9:30 PM near Lenana School on Ngong Road.
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On the day he was murdered, Juma had also reportedly filed submissions in an international court regarding a case against the Kenyan government, demanding compensation of Sh2 trillion.
This lawsuit stemmed from the government’s decision to revoke his license for Mrima Hill, a site in Kwale County believed to hold vast deposits of very valuable minerals.
Juma had previously alleged that the then Mining Cabinet Secretary, Najib Balala, solicited a bribe from him to avoid the cancellation of Cortec Mining’s licenses—an accusation that Balala strongly denied.
Opposition leaders Blame State for Juma’s Murder
Juma’s death elicited widespread condemnation, notably from opposition leaders, including former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who claimed that Jacob Juma was executed.
“He had predicted his death. It seems planned in advance. This is an extrajudicial killing. I am in shock. They have killed my friend by spraying bullets in his right hand, neck, and stomach,” Odinga said.
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During Juma’s burial, former Lugari MP Cyrus Jirongo, a close ally of Juma, linked his murder to Juma’s outspoken criticism of corruption, suggesting that a powerful politician holding one of the highest offices in the country was behind the act.
Before his assassination, Jacob Juma had publicly claimed on social media, particularly through his Twitter (now X) account, that certain individuals were plotting to kill him due to his vocal stance against corruption in the Kenyan government, notably regarding the Eurobond scandal and the National Youth Service (NYS) scam.
To date, no one has been arrested or prosecuted for Juma’s death, and the identities of those behind it remain a mystery.
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