Jacob Juma: More than meets the eye

“Murder is unique in that it abolishes the party that it injures, so that society has to take the place of the victim and on his behalf demand atonement or grant forgiveness; it is one crime that society has a direct interest in”. - W.H. Auden, The Dyer’s Hand

Jacob Juma did not deserve to die but someone or some people decided to pump away his life with bullets! Yes, unlike the unfortunate case of Robert Ouko many years ago, not even a mad pathologist or sleuth can claim he killed himself.

As you have seen, although we were made to believe he was blocked and shot in his car, no bullet went through his car seat.

The story of the man on a motorbike with a hammer also seems hogwash because there were no bullets hitting the windscreen and seats, so the narration that he was blocked and shot is just another kitendawili (riddle).

Just reflect on the possibility of this. On a busy road at 9:30pm; guys in a car block Mr Juma, can’t get the bullets through the car window because they are bulletproof then they call up a guy to come with a hammer on a motorbike.

Or to put it differently, the guy on a motorbike was following the guys in the car that would be used to block their target, but from far behind.

So why couldn’t they carry him and his hammer in their car? Mind you, with the professional nature of these killers, I would only believe they didn’t know in advance that Mr Juma’s car was bulletproof when I am convinced Tana River has started flowing towards the Aberdares.

Ask yourself why the cops towed his vehicle with the body still in the driver’s seat to Karen Police Station and you realise that even they, apart from being mean and uncivil, knew this man was dead long ago.

Otherwise, they would have taken him to hospital first, then later to the morgue. Remember some witnesses reported Mr Juma’s vehicle didn’t suffer any dent or crash into a tree as expected when you are blocked and shot at. There were no skid marks or bushes run over.

After the other riddle that the police gave; that the bullet cartridges were not found - either because the killer(s) had a special gun that collects them or the murder scene was sanitised  - I saw a message from the Criminal Intelligence Director at midnight that two had in fact been found and are being analysed in relation to other murders under probe.

If you trust that this is how we shall nail the killer(s) of Mr Juma, then you win the trophy for optimism in Kenya. This is the script of how murder investigations work in Kenya if ever you have a ‘client’ at the police reporting desk or reception.

First, they want to know if the deceased had a business rival or was sucked up in a deal gone sour or was one of the tripods in a love triangle.

They would also want to know what he or she was robbed of, and in the case of Mr Juma the expensive watch and money he had were untouched.

The killer(s) had only one mission, which they accomplished.

But according to the police script, the final question they ask is if the deceased had talked about enemies who wanted him dead and why.

They will go ahead to ask about the people they were seen last with. The point I am making is this; to get to Mr Juma’s killers, start with his own publicised fears and the reasons he gave.

Not much has come out about his love life but in terms of business rivalries, Mr Juma was the fulcrum of episodic, controversial cash deals and the investigators should also turn their microscope here.

But if you ask me, his Eurobond expositions put him on the radar of the killer and police are wasting time and distracting us by summoning anyone who says he knows anything.

Look, the widow said no police officer has been to the home to ask questions! Why are police investigating Mr Juma’s case differently? In routine crime cases, those mentioned by the deceased, no matter how high up, would have either recorded a statement or issued one of their own to clear their names.

As one friend of Mr Juma told me, yes, he was a "loud mouth" but he was not as dangerous or harmful as he boasted about and it is unfortunate that whoever wanted him dead may have been convinced this was the case.

Thus, despite his own imperfections, pride, arrogance, wheeler-dealing, philandering and auctioneering, he didn’t deserve to die and because he has, let us just say whoever killed him, simply dispatched him to the other side, and we are all headed there anyway.

But may Mr Juma wherever he is convoke his spirit to give his killer a constant and nasty reminder of the devilish act every day!

Finally, the biggest worry now isn’t about Mr Juma alone, but if execution has become the modus operandi for dealing with dissent and whistleblowers, for if we allow the licence to kill then no one is safe.

Knowing you was an honour to me and to my profession.

Someone was seemingly convinced you were the proverbial ogre with one eye at the back of his head.

Fare thee well countryman and God have mercy on Kenya.