A former Member of Parliament (MP) was confirmed dead on Wednesday, October 30, 2024. Former Kimilili Constituency MP Suleiman Kasuti Murunga died after spending 7 years outside Parliament.
His successor, Didmus Barasa made the announcement through his social media platforms.
Barasa mourned his predecessor and sent his condolences to his family and friends,
“With a heavy heart, I wish to give my sincere condolences to my people of Kimilili Constituency for the loss of our former Member of Parliament Hon. Suleiman Kasuti Murunga. My deepest sympathies are with his family and friends. May his soul rest in eternal peace,” Barasa said.
Former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko also mourned Murunga and sent his condolences to the family.
“Rest in peace, my good friend Suleiman Murunga, former MP Kimilili, and proprietor of our old popular club Simmers,” he said.
He is known both for his time in Kenyan Parliament and involvement in legal battles over land rights.
Term as Kimilili MP
Murunga served as Kimilili MP between 2013 and 2017. He was then a member of the Ford Kenya led by current National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula.
Murunga succeeded Eseli Simiyu who held the position between 2007 and 2013 after unseating Mukhisa Kituyi.
During his parliamentary career, he was a member of the Catering and Health Club Committee and was active in debates.
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Simmers Restaurant Case
Murunga was engaged in a court case involving the ownership of Simmers restaurant in Nairobi,
He has been pursuing ownership of a plot on Kenyatta Avenue in Nairobi, where Simmers Restaurant once sat, a business he previously leased and later claimed to be the beneficial owner.
Murunga stated that he had leased the land from Nilestar Holdings since 1997 through Green Valley Ltd, a company now in dispute between the family of former Finance Minister Arthur Magugu and businessman Madatah Hasham Ebraham.
According to him, Nilestar’s 99-year lease expired on December 31, 2009. Despite applying for renewal, the Commissioner of Lands did not grant it.
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In 2011, Murunga applied for and was subsequently allotted the property. He claimed in an affidavit that, upon meeting the necessary conditions, he transitioned from being a tenant to becoming the legal and/or beneficial owner of the property.
As a result, Murunga stopped paying rent to Nilestar Holdings, with the company’s directors reportedly aware of the ownership change. In 2013, he successfully obtained a court order preventing the previous owners from seizing his property over an alleged Sh1.62 million rent claim.
In a ruling in June 2024, Justice Ogutu Mboya said the Magugu family was to continue controlling the land.
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