Like all historical personalities, the late Cyrus Jirongo cannot “rest in peace”. Wrangles, contests and reviews of his life have characterized his death. I suspect that the succession hurdle lies in wait for obvious reasons. He is not alone in this.
Raila Odinga’s death sparked off a variety of reactions some leading to deaths of around four people. Dr John Garang’s death in a helicopter crash in South Sudan ocassioned the death of around eighty five people.
Garang’s grave has remained an active volcano as panafricanists seek explanations of his death. Perhaps “REST IN PEACE” remark should be reserved for the ordinary.
Was Jirongo assassinated? Thats not my area of competence but Kenya’s history is littered with suspicious deaths through so called road and air accidents hence the legitimacy of people’s inquisitiveness.
However, knowing his character and spirit, Cyrus Jirongo possessed credentials that qualified him for an assassins eye.
This is partially illustrated in my few encounters and covert dealings with him as you will witness below. We met in 1993 but let’s flash forward to 1995.
Two years after our encounter when i came from exile, he told me a story:
“I want to tell you something I have never told anyone. When I was campaigning for Moi, a Central Province political operative cheated Moi that he was going to secure defections of key people from mount Kenya. Moi gave him quite some money but he failed to deliver and was summoned to State House.
After a private meeting with the the Kikuyu guy and the president, I was asked to drive the fellow to his home escorted by the General Service Unit (GSU). In my vehicle, I was in the company of a certain Kalenjin Youth for KANU member.
When the Kikuyu fellow stepped out from my car, a GSU officer in the car behind me got out and shot him twice at point blank range at his gate. I nearly collapsed in shock. Then the same officer turned to me and said ‘Ambia mtu yoyote juu ya hii kitendo ujue serikali ni nini.” (Leak information about this incident at your own perril).
Jirongo told me these story in 1995 when we were driving to Nairobi to look for money to support Saulo Busolo’s parliamentary campaign in a Webuye constituency by-election in 1995.
In the morning, Busolo and I had secretly met Abraham Kiptanui, the State House Controller, at a carpentry workshop near Kunste Hotel in Nakuru after driving at night from Bungoma.
Our scheme as recommended by Jirongo was to secure the government’s noninterference undertaking in Webuye by-election by a false promise from our end that we would orchestrate mass defections after being elected.
Jirongo presented the proposal to Kiptanui on our behalf. After a few questions, Kiptanui was convinced.
The State House Controlar then said:
“Can you talk to this Wafula Buke to ensure that the president is not stoned because President Moi is coming to Webuye to campaign for the KANU candidate?”
“The Buke you are talking about is this one” He pointed at me. Apparently they understood my role in what was going on on the ground.
“You mean its you?” My clothes were not great. Kiptanui spoke in shock. He had a point. I was in charge of the “crude” Wing of the campaign tasked to ensure that KANU operations did not take place in Webuye. I must say we were thorough. The man we were campaigning against was my brother law Joash Wamang’oli, the first cousin of Hellen Cherop’s mother.
I assured Kiptanui that the president will be safe. He offered to take us to meet Moi so that we could get campaign money but we told him that was not necessary since we were going to win the election.
“All we require from you is neutrality by the Government after winning we shall come and join the president” Busolo concluded.
“In the years that I have worked in government, I have never met anybody who refused to receive money”.
Kiptanui said.
We were following the guidelines of Jirongo. “If you take their money and fail to deliver, they will kill you.”
Jirongo was applying the lessons he had learned from the Kikuyu conman who was shot in 1992.
I met Cyrus in 1993. I was taken to him by a man who later became my father in law. He informed me that Jirongo was dishing out money to opposition politicians after falling out with Moi and that I could try my luck since there were no serious integrity issues.
I was taken to him in anniversary towers. The guys were excited to have recruited a rebel of my stature. Jirongo talked to me across his office table but my replies were not audible due to hunger. I was really, completely, thoroughly down economically 
.
The last time I had this experience was in Kabete Campus in 1987. I was invited to the podium but my voice could not be heard. I had focused on SONU campaigns so much that I was not eating. When I got off the stage, a frustrated Miguna Miguna protested:
“Buke! You are not eating. Please eat food”
Jirongo mistook my low voice to mean I wanted privacy so he instructed Emmanuel Tiboti to drive me to Eldoret. We finally met in a Webuye hotel the following day. I presented my case.
“Cyrus, you are a big man now. We are on opposite political sides but we share some things. We are both young. (Jirongo was 32 while I was 30 years old) I have been fighting for change in my entire youth. I have participated in creating conditiins that have made the Moi government engage you for them to survive. Cyrus, I see you dishing out money to so many useless people, you mean you can’t just help me pay rent. Surely you have benefited from our effort. You know I cant join KANU but in politics, you never know. You might need me later. Help me feed my family brother”
Jirongo replied:
“Now listen Buke. It’s not a question of me needing you. It is a question of us needing each other. As for money, now you have it. Go back home and think about what you want to do. Come to Nairobi on Monday I sort you out”.
What was this guy talking about? I wondered. At the time, I was looking for 7,000 shillings so that I could open a Nyoyo (beans and maige) and porridge kiosk in Kisumu near Kenya breweries. He saw my confused face and gave me some quideline: “Anything even if its a matatu. “
I realized that he was willing to give me a million plus. He removed a bundle of 500 shilling notes, split them into two, and handed me the bigger bundle (ksh 35,000) and asked me to report in his Lavington residence on Monday. As far as I was concerned, that money was enough and all my problems were over.
On Monday, 1.PM we were at his residence. Please I can’t see you today. He gave me 100k to hung around for two days. After two days he said he was still busy. He gave me 200k to go home and come back after the weekend. The process went on till the mini handouts reached about a million before I received the main handout.
During this period Jirongo Kept complaining about his marginalization by Moi. He told me how the system was frustrating him economically. He alleged that Musalia Mudavadi, Kalonzo and him had acquired some land jointly but his name had been removed.
“Moi talked about this things in Kalenjin in my presence at State House. He thinks I don’t understand Kalenjin?”. Jirongo lamented to me.
I monitored the deterioration of his faith in the government and decided to challenge him.
At the time, my underground (UWAKE) movement was still operating. Cadres were scaterred across the country and preparations for action were still on. The movement had deployed me to the overt front to mobilize students on a national scale. This assignment meant that I was to be in the least contact with our underground. I thought I could convince Jirongo to fund our guerrilla movement.
“CJ! You know me and know what am associated with. Why can’t you fund us. We shall exercise maximum clandestinity. We won’t blow your cover.” He replied.
“I have been waiting for you to say that” He called out his best friend.
“Waliaula! We are going the Buke way”
“CJ! Stop there. Not that way.” He understood so we excluded the late Waliaula on this matters. Ordinarily, the rich dont take risks of this kind especially under Moi. Jirongo could.
I approached my official contact in the underground movement, late Wahome Mutahi’s brother Njuguna. I told him that “as you are aware revolutionary movements sometimes rely on resources from conservative quarters. I have a source of funding for our military campaign. I have been asked to ask you people to do a budget. I will bring the money”
Late Njuguna Mutahi gave me an update on the movement. It had been been mismanaged frustrating cadres till some had disappeared while others had been killed. I went back to Jirongo and told him to hold on before I re-engage him. Jirongo had a suicidal streak in his character that separated him from his counterparts in KANU. He also had some values, he never betrayed his real friends.
In his house, whenever I arrived, I went straight to his library to hide lest government people found me there. On most ocassions, many KANU politicians came to his house. I identified them by their voices. One such person was late Minister Elijah Mwangale. As they walked into the sitting room, I overheard Jirongo complain about have very bad media coverage. Mwangale replied beautifully:
“In politics, its better to talked about negatively than not being talked about”
A few opposition leaders also showed up. One day I couldn’t resist the temptation to break the rule.
I had been to prison for several years. I was free for 43 days after being released then ran away to Uganda for safety where I stayed in the bush undergoing guerrilla training. Jirongo’s sitting room had a big television set showing CNN. I decided to watch it.
Mohammed Noor, a state House operative, stepped into the sitting room.
“You mean guerrillas also come here?”
He spoke in apparent shock.
“Not really we guerrillas have seen the light and are willing to work with president Moi. That’s why I am here”.
I responded hoping to repair the damage. Noor called CJ using the house telephone. He immediately handed the phone to Jirongo’s Maasai wife after just saying hallo to CJ.
She held the phone on her ear for a few minutes then faced me.
“CJ is mad. I didn’t know that you are not supposed to be seen. What do we do now?.” She asked me.
I went back to the Library. Jirongo had an ideologically balanced library. He had several revolutionary books by Ngugi wa Thiong’o and many leftist books by Nkurumah, Nyerere etc. He was young then and may have been trying to discover his mission.
Not long after the depature of Mohammed Noor, Jirongo walked in, gave me a bundle of cash, 700,000k and told me to “disappear”. Two days later, the police raided his home looking for guns. The story was headline news. Jirongo got in touch with my all time friend, Saulo Busolo, to instruct me to disappear and “go back to Uganda. This people will kill him. ” Note that Jirongo doesn’t choose to sell me out.
Having learned from Njuguna that the underground movement was no more, i reached out to militarily trained comrades individually asking them to do bussiness proposals since I had money. I dished out some of that money as I settled on matatu transport bussiness in Kisumu which failed miserably because of being run on socialist ideals and values.
I also rented a house in Waithaka and furnished it fully. The house would be used by all homeless comrades. I left the house in the hands of Mak’ogega, an expelled university student and comrade Kaberere Njenga. Now a medical doctor.
Jirongo’s tribulatiins did not end there. He ended joining the reform campaign such as Muungano ya Mageuzi ocassioning our next encounter late 90s. Kwanza MP George Kaptein and i organized a rally in Sabwana primary school in Kitale. KANU and FORD Kenya were against the rally. Jirongo and William Ruto supported the rally attended by 36 MPs led by Late President Mwai Kibaki . I was in charge of operations. As is well known, the rally was attacked by a granade and arrows.
My security team chased the atrackers. As reported in the news papers the following day. William Ruto was the only member of parliament who joined the chase. One man was killed. At the burial ceremony of Jacob Juma years later, Jirongo alleged that William Rito twisted the neck of the Sabwani attacker killing him. All I remember is that when the security team came back in the company of William Ruto, the leader of my security team looked frightened and couldn’t face me. A man had been killed.
I look back through the life of CJ and cant deny him the credit of caurage of the dare devil brand and empathy. Till his last days, he still spoke his mind without fear. In fact he could stand accused of being reckless by the cautious and cowardly. In this regard, his political conduct substantially ressembled the many who have been assassinated in Kenya.
If anyone will develop a list of men and women who were generous or reckless givers of what they had acquired, the late Wamalwa Kijana comes first among the Luhya followed by Cyrus Jirongo.
I feel hurt that he unconditionally assisted me at my hour of need but has gone without my “thank you” In kind. Go well interesting one.
I took the picture below at the place where he died from in Naivasha. The pieces in my hand are fragments from his late car.
