There is arguably a long record of deaths of politicians, but these are the ones that took Kenya by storm.
In the recent past, there have been a number of high-profile deaths that have mostly followed a shocking pattern of victims passing away, some in mysterious circumstances, and Kenyans have never had a clear explanation of what actually happened.
The incidents of political and public personalities who unexpectedly passed away and those whose causes of death are still unknown are listed below.
Ten Deaths of Politicians that Shocked Kenya
1. Joseph Ole Nkaissery
The former Internal Security CS Joseph Ole Nkaissery was fit and healthy, and in July 2017, he attended a prayer meeting at Uhuru Park. He then saw a few acquaintances before heading home, where he allegedly collapsed and passed away on 8th July 2017.
It completely caught Kenyans off guard because he hadn’t recently experienced any health difficulties. Although a “heart attack” was cited as the reason for death, this hasn’t persuaded many Kenyans years later.
2. George Saitoti
On June 10, 2012, the helicopter they were in crashed in the Kibiku jungle, killing the former minister for internal security and his aide Orwa Ojodeh. The two men’s deaths dealt a severe blow to a nation that was almost ready for elections.
The commission charged with looking into the situation never provided a convincing justification. Kenyans are aware that the aircraft had a problem and might have had a “high concentration of carbon monoxide” inside. But was that sufficient?
3. Mutula Kilonzo
On April 27, 2013, Mutula Kilonzo, a former senator for Makueni County, was discovered dead. His death was so unexpected for a man who was healthy and busy. As of this writing, there are still a ton of competing hypotheses on how he passed away.
4. George Muchai
The former Kabete Mp was brutally slain in another sequence of high-profile deaths by a gunman, but the mystery aspect is that the culprit was never located even with state assistance.