Notable Assassinations in Kenya and their Impact on the Economy

A king cannot urinate in the bush. If he does so, the squirrels, the birds and the insects will be keen to want to see the size of the king’s biological tool. Children of darkness are more united and more powerful than the children of light. They say that politics is a dirty game. That those who engage in it must be ready to soil their hands. Yet this same politics, the so called dirty game is very crucial to the development of any given country. The political environment in Kenya has often been marred with betrayals, sweat, tears, blood and magic.

Kenya has had a long history of assassinations that have emerged as a mystery and a puzzle for many. Some of this assassinations have shocked the nation to the core with most of them not seeing the light of the day in terms of the truth. Many people have ignored the economic aspect of these assassinations. The truth is that these assassinations have had enormous effects on the economy of this country.

The beginning of assassinations in Kenya started with the murder of Thomas Joseph Mboya in the year 1969 and the killing of Josiah Mwangi (JM) Kariuki in 1975.  Tom Mboya was shot dead on Government Road now known as Moi Avenue on 5th July 1969 and the country shook. The decomposing body of JM Kariuki was found in Ngong forest in 1975. These two assassinations marked the commencement of a dark chapter in the history of Kenya. These two incidents triggered a series of investigations with commissions being formed to look into the matters. These commissions, formed with intentions to cover up the cases have used billions of shillings from the Kenyan taxpayer.

On February 13th in 1990, the then Foreign Affairs Minister Robert Ouko was killed and his burned body found in a thicket near River Nyando at the foot of Got Alila Hills. The truth is yet to come out. Commission after commission has been formed and many other people have disappeared concerning the same. On August 23rd in the year 2000, the nation woke to the sad news of the killing of Father John Kaiser of the Catholic Church. In August 1988, Titus Adungosi, the then vibrant University of Nairobi student leader was killed and in the year 1990 Bishop Alexander Kipsang Muge was involved in a suspicious road accident. Others that have been assassinated include Crispin Odhiambo Mbai a don at the University of Nairobi, former Member of Parliament for Embakasi Mugabe Were, and a former Member of Parliament for Ainamoi David Kimutai all gunned down in the year 2003.

Killed for what they stood for

All these individuals were killed for what they believed in or for what they were perceived to be believing in. some like JM Kariuki believed in social equality. JM for instance, believed that a country should not have one hundred millionaires and millions others languishing in poverty. Forces of darkness feared him and the only way was to give him a one way ticket six feet under. Robert Ouko was a staunch campaigner against corruption and other social injustices in the country.

Recent Assassination

One of the recent and most daring assassination of businessman Jacob Juma. He was gunned down at the hail of more than ten bullets on Thursday 5th 2016. Jacob Juma was controversial and always came at loggerheads with authorities on various issues. Prior to his death, he had threatened to release what he termed as a report that showed how the Eurobond billions were looted. He was also very critical of the government. It is not known who killed Jacob Juma and this article is not speculating.

Economic impact

• Commissions formed often use a lot of money that would have been used in the development of the country. Findings and recommendations of these commissions are never put into considerations amounting to a waste of time and resources.
• The assassinations create tension in the country. Kenya is majorly tribal and whenever a person is gunned down, individual communities feel as though they are being targeted.

They erode the confidence of the public in the security apparatus in the country. People lose their trust in the security force for some of them have been blamed to be taking part in these murders.

Article by Juma Fred.