“I Trust No One”: Why Nyakach MP Joshua Aduma Shuns Bodyguards and Once Drove in a Hearse

In the wake of recent MP assassinations, Nyakach’s Joshua Aduma Owuor has developed one of the most unconventional security strategies in Kenyan politics

In Kenya’s corridors of power, where politicians often surround themselves with heavily armed security details and bulletproof vehicles, Nyakach MP Joshua Aduma Owuor stands out as a paradox.

Despite facing what may be the most persistent security threats of any current legislator, the soft-spoken lawyer deliberately shuns his state-provided bodyguards and has developed an almost mystical approach to personal protection.

“I trust no one,” declares the 60-year-old MP, whose life reads like a political thriller punctuated by murders, arson attacks, and death threats spanning over a decade.

A Trail of Violence

The roots of Owuor’s paranoia are deeply embedded in a series of chilling attacks that have targeted him and his inner circle since he entered politics. The MP has been vocal on issues relating to cattle-rustling in the area, a stance that has apparently made him powerful enemies.

The most devastating blow came on November 7, 2013, just months after he was elected to represent Nyakach constituency.

Attackers descended on his rural home, locking his 80-year-old father Francis Owuor inside the main house before setting it ablaze.

His stepmother, 70-year-old Mary Owuor, was brutally killed in the kitchen while preparing supper.

“It’s like they used explosives to catalyse the fire,” Owuor recalls of the inferno that claimed his father’s life. “They locked the gate, even people who came in to rescue took time to break in and gain access.”

The attack was meant for him. “I had a function here at home, and I think the attackers thought I would be in this home,” he explains.

Miraculously, instinct had kept him away that night, receiving the distress call at 11pm from his burning homestead.

A Pattern of Intimidation

The killings were part of a calculated campaign of terror.

A month before his parents’ murder, his personal assistant Richard Ochieng was killed in Kisumu’s Nyalenda area.

“That was my most reliable security staff. His murder, I suspect, was meant to pave way for the events they were planning to undertake here,” Owuor says.

The attacks didn’t stop there:

• In 2011, while serving as legal services director at Nairobi County Council, he received a parcel containing bullets
• The efforts to curb cattle rustling in Nyakach has for years been futile with area MP Aduma Owuor championing for the establishment of ASTU in the area
• In September 2016, arsonists torched his Nyakach home, destroying two vehicles and a store
• On the eve of his parents’ burial, another personal assistant was attacked and injured

The Hearse Strategy

Faced with such persistent threats, Owuor developed what might be Kenya’s most unusual security protocol.

The Nyakach MP once used to travel in a hearse for security reasons, reasoning that “the things which travel in a hearse with a siren are dreaded by people.”

The vehicle was actually a converted tour van that resembled a hearse.

“I no longer do so because the security improved,” he says, though his definition of “improved security” differs markedly from conventional wisdom.

Today, his security strategy involves deliberate unpredictability.

He rarely spends extended periods at his rural home, avoids regular weekend routines in Nairobi, and has no specific vehicle associated with him.

Instead, he frequently uses taxis, public service vehicles, and boda-bodas to throw potential attackers off his trail.

Lessons from Recent Tragedy

The recent assassination of Kasipul MP Charles Ong’ondo Were has only reinforced Owuor’s unconventional approach to security.

Sleuths describe the incident as “a well-orchestrated crime”, with the driver and the bodyguard unharmed in the attack but later arrested on suspicion of coordinating with the killers.

“You cannot defeat an enemy you don’t understand,” Owuor observes, noting that Were was “infiltrated” by those closest to him.

This validates his deep mistrust of conventional security arrangements.

The majority of MPs choose to release their security in the evenings and drive home alone, but Owuor takes this a step further, operating without his state-provided protection team most of the time.

The Cattle Rustling Connection

At the heart of Owuor’s security concerns lies his crusade against cattle rustling in Nyakach, a constituency strategically located at the border of Kisumu and Nandi counties.

Owuor, who has been in the forefront in the war against animal theft, called for heightened patrol along the borders of Kisumu and Kericho.

He believes the criminal networks involved in livestock theft have the resources and motivation to eliminate him.

“Most of the beef cattle being stolen here is slaughtered in Kisumu,” he explains, describing how he once discovered that a worker at his Kisumu home was “planted” by rustlers and worked at a butchery processing stolen cattle.

A Quiet Legislator’s Burden

Despite the dramatic nature of his personal struggles, Joshua Aduma Owuor is a Kenyan politician and lawyer currently serving as the Member of Parliament for Nyakach Constituency since 2013, and he maintains a surprisingly low profile in Parliament.

Records show he spoke only 13 times between 2014 and 2022, preferring action to rhetoric.

In one notable intervention on March 9, 2014, he told Parliament: “Incidents of stock theft in the larger Nyakach area have increased considerably, leading to clashes between neighbouring constituencies. Lives have been lost, houses torched and livestock stolen.”

Divine Protection Over Human Security

Today, Owuor cooks his own food and leads what he calls “an ordinary life,” despite the extraordinary circumstances surrounding him.

His philosophy has evolved from elaborate security measures to spiritual reliance.

“[Someone] thought they had scared me and I had to move with bodyguards. I don’t do that because the best protection is from God,” he states matter-of-factly.

Twelve years after his parents’ murder, he has never conducted a memorial service or deeply processed the trauma with his children, who remain traumatized when visiting the family home. “It’s still painful,” he admits.

The Unsolved Mystery

Despite the passage of time, the murders of his parents remain unsolved, though Owuor maintains his suspicions about those responsible. “We suspected three people [who had] the blessings of the government,” he says cryptically.

His story serves as a stark reminder of the dangerous intersection between local politics and organized crime in Kenya, where taking a principled stand against cattle rustling can cost not just your life, but the lives of those you love most.

As Kenya grapples with the recent spate of political assassinations, Joshua Aduma Owuor’s survival strategy – built on unpredictability, self-reliance, and what he believes is divine protection – offers a unique perspective on political security in a country where conventional protection has proven unreliable.

Whether his approach is sustainable in the long term remains to be seen, but for now, the MP who trusts no one continues his solitary fight against cattle rustling, armed only with his convictions and an unwavering belief that his ultimate protection comes from above.