Jirongo, a highly influential and controversial figure in Kenyan politics, died on Saturday, December 13, 2025, in a head-on collision involving his Mercedes-Benz and a passenger bus on the notoriously dangerous Nairobi-Nakuru Highway near Naivasha. While police quickly categorized the incident as a traffic fatality, the family remains unconvinced, pointing to several inconsistencies that they believe raise the specter of foul play.

The Questions the Family is Asking

The most significant point of contention revolves around the location and timing of the accident versus Jirongo’s stated last movements.

The Discrepancy

The police report places the accident at approximately 3:00 a.m. in Karai, Naivasha, a significant distance from Nairobi. However, the chairman of the funeral committee, former Westlands MP Fred Gumo, disclosed that Jirongo had left a meeting in Karen, Nairobi, to head to his home in Gigiri, Nairobi, a relatively short journey. “He was travelling from Karen to his home in Gigiri. How did he end up several kilometres away in Naivasha?” Gumo asked, demanding answers.

Questions have also been raised by his party’s leadership regarding why a prominent politician like Jirongo was traveling alone in the dead of night without his usual driver or security detail. The United Democratic Party (UDP) Busia branch, which Jirongo led, publicly challenged investigators to establish who he spoke to and what prompted his sudden, late-night journey out of Nairobi.

Call for Forensic Scrutiny: The family is calling for a meticulous, forensic audit of the evidence, urging police to scrutinize CCTV footage from the highway and the vicinity of his last known location to establish a clear timeline of his final hours.

Key Demands and Next Steps

The family’s stance has been clear: the official report of a simple road accident is insufficient, and they are leveraging their influence to ensure a comprehensive probe is conducted.

An autopsy is scheduled to provide medical clarity on the cause of death. Simultaneously, the public pressure is mounting on the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) to consider an inquest—a formal legal inquiry—to independently establish the facts surrounding the death.

Jirongo’s long and complex political career, marked by his outspoken nature and history of taking bold, often controversial, stances, provides a backdrop for the suspicions. For many, the sudden, violent end to the life of a man who had often courted high-stakes political and financial disputes simply “does not add up.”

As the nation mourns the loss of a major figure in its political history, the focus has shifted from mere condolence to a demand for justice. The family insists that nothing short of a transparent and conclusive investigation will quell the widespread speculation and bring closure to a tragic chapter.