A video of the late ex-minister Cyrus Jirongo discussing the anatomy of political assassinations in Kenya has resurfaced online, reigniting debate in the wake of his sudden death.
The clip, shared by Nyali MP Mohammed Ali, shows Jirongo speaking candidly during a past episode of Jeff Koinange Live on KTN.
In the interview, Jirongo outlined what he described as a familiar pattern behind assassinations in the country.
“Typically, an assassination in Kenya, its anatomy is simple. You are either standing on a path for somebody who holds a certain political office, or there is an economic crime that needs to be covered and you have that information and you are letting the public know,” he said.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Mohamed Ali-PSC COMMISSIONER, MP NYALI/ INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST (@mohajichopevu)
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He went on to describe how such killings are allegedly executed and explained away.
“First of all, that situation exists — you are gunned down. Secondly, you hear a story of a woman somewhere. Then there will be, of course to cause confusion, a story of money and a business deal somewhere,” Jirongo said.
“Thereafter the police will come up with some very stupid explanation of what happened. You will hear the police have arrested somebody, taken him to court and then park him there. You will never hear of the story again.”
Jirongo questioned whether justice is ever served in such cases, posing a rhetorical question during the show, “Do you think we’ll ever know who killed Jacob Juma?”
He warned that assassinations were, at the time, making a return as a tool to silence dissenting voices and whistleblowers.
“Assassination is creeping back into Kenya to silence those of different political opinion or those that are releasing information that might make certain individuals culpable of economic crimes,” he said.
“You are told a gun was recovered and the casings found at the scene of crime tally with the gun that should have been used. Somehow the media is manipulated and the people forget about you.”
The resurfaced video comes as detectives continue to piece together Jirongo’s final moments following his death.
An autopsy revealed that Jirongo died from severe internal injuries sustained in a road crash along the Nairobi–Nakuru Highway.
Authorities said investigations into the circumstances surrounding the accident are ongoing.
Jirongo, a former powerful politician and businessman, served as a Cabinet minister during the Moi era and remained an influential public figure long after leaving government.
He has been mourned widely across political circles and particularly his home constituency of Lugari, where he once served as member of parliament.