Going by police reports a shooting incident that led to the death of Jacob Juma occurred on the 5th day of May 2016 at about 8.30pm along Ngong Road at the interchange just after Lenana High School. Contradicting sharply, locals refute police claims of shooting saying no gun sounds were heard at the said times.
Circumstances surrounding the death have been a solid script to decipher. Analysis both done by this writer and other analysts have all pointed in the same direction that the deceased was killed elsewhere and body planted at the staged crime scene.
An anonymous source confided in me that Juma had been poisoned and had collapsed by the time the killers got to him. While the information given were scanty, I embarked on trailing the last moments which perhaps have the biggest clues on exactly what might have happened.
Casket bearing the remains of JJ taken away after Requiem mass in Nairobi
On several occasions, Juma boasted to his friends and oozed confidence in his life given the fact that he had an armored car. Knowing he was a target, he was cautious enough. Getting to him in his armored car was a twisted puzzle for his assassins; this meant a different plot was hatched.
“Juma knew his death was coming, what he didn’t know is they’d use a woman to get at him.” Said one source.
If at all this theory was to be true then how did it happen? From the police report, Juma was last seen in the company of a young lady now revealed as Cheryl Kitonga, and he drove her to town after a meeting with her in his Rose Apartments along Brookside Drive in Westlands.
Time frames that are given by the police differs with the records at the apartments gate which say, JJ in company of Cheryl left at 7.45pm, Police through Automated Number Plate Recognition(ANPR) cameras captures Juma opposite Westlands Bus Terminus driving along Waiyaki Way driving towards CBD at 7.34pm, at this moment Cheryl is on the passenger seat.
Juma’s car captured on CCTV
At 7.36, Juma is captured near Villa Rosa along Waiyaki Way driving towards Uhuru Highway. At 7.38pm, he’s seen near Ministry of Tourism offices at Kenyatta/Uhuru highway driving towards Mombasa Road. At 7.53pm, JJ is captured at Uhuru Highway near Central Park and at 7.55pm he’s seen at Nyerere Road near Children’s Traffic Park, along Nyerere Road towards Kenyatta Avenue.
Worthy of noting, Cheryl Kitonga said she was dropped at Trattoria in the CBD by Juma at 7.50pm. Surprisingly, despite having nearly ten cameras in that area, no footage of Juma dropping Cheryl can be retrieved. On being questioned, DCI Muhoro blatantly said the camera goes off at times on certain occasions.
Whether indeed the lady was dropped at Trattoria or not or any incidence that might have ensued in the area is unclear since there’s no footage made available to ascertain or refute. Cheryl Kitonga according to police report together with Jacob Juma left his Brookside Apartment at 7.45pm she says he dropped her at Trattoria at 7.50pm that’s five minutes from Westlands to town and that she was home in South B at 8.12PM that’s 22minutes.
Cheryl Kitonga
Many have found it hard to swallow the timelines given the nature of Nairobi traffic and on the prime times.
Last moment of Juma on CCTV is captured at 8.14pm at Argwings Kodhek Road, along Argwings Kodhek Road; this is near Yaya Centre towards Ole Odume Road. What follows is a dark world, no clip of JJ is captured. Where he went next, whom he met next is unclear.
According to Juma’s wife, the deceased never used Ngong Road but Langata when going home cropping possibilities that he was driving to meet someone but not going home.
The source who didn’t want to be mentioned in this publication says a woman poisoned Jacob with a drug that takes minutes or hours to take effect. “JJ collapsed in his car; that’s why his back window was smashed to gain entry.” Reads the anonymous mail sent to Kenya Insight.
The inside of JJ car
The letter further reads and reveals more, “The car was towed with Jacob inside it, unconscious body shot at, and his left hand hit to near dismemberment to make it look like there was a scuffle, the body was then returned inside the car, buckled and towed to the scene.” The mail ends with “Good luck and doesn’t write back.”
The towing of the car with Juma’s body coincides with an initial rumor that body of Juma was towed to Karen police inside his vehicle. During the postmortem done at Lee Funeral home, bandages were found on Juma’s body in what looks like someone was trying to stop the bleeding. How could this have possibly happened? Several theories can be drawn.
If indeed Juma was poisoned and was unconscious in the car when the killers pounced, then they would’ve come in a medic unit acting on distress call full with first aid kits. Smashed the window to ‘help’ the collapsed man trapped inside, this to keep public’s curiosity swayed. His unconscious body moved out, shot at and taken back with the bandages still on.
Raila and friends viewing the body of JJ at Lee Funeral Home
Juma’s body had seven bullets with the killing bullet going through his chest. Police said an AK47 rifle was used to execute Juma. No impact on his car would justify narrative that he was killed inside his vehicle giving more strength to the theory that he was murdered elsewhere. There’s even a possibility that Juma had died in his car from the poisoning and that shooting was just a smoke screen to avoid blood tests which would complicate and implicate killers.
If Juma was trapped and poisoned by a woman then who would that woman be? From my sources, police are questioning a good number of women in this view. If the family preserved body fluid and tissue samples for forensic scrutiny, then the poisoning theory can be pursued if not then it dies at that.
Juma’s car packed at the police station
Where did Jacob head to after Yaya Center where CCTV locates him driving along Argwings Kodhek? It’s unclear; he goes into the dark, the next time he surfaces his body is lying there bullet-riddled and around Lenana School. However, what’s clearer is JJ is last captured on camera at Yaya Center around 8.14pm and the next thing his body recovered at 8.30pm according to the police
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