Josiah Kariuki Unsolved Murder

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"His face looked very dark as if something had been poured on it," said Terry Wanjiru Kariuki on March 11, 1975. (Otzen, 2015) She said these touching words immediately after viewing the body of her late husband Josiah Mwangi Kariuki, former Nyandarua’s Member of Parliament in 1974.

Josiah Kariuki, the MAU-MAU-loved political personality, was born on March 21, 1929. He was born in Kabati-in a small village outside Nakuru town in the Rift valley Region. (Kugler) JM as he was popularly known, was reported to go missing on March 2, 1975. His body was later found lying at Nairobi City Mortuary 10 days after his disappearance. (KHAEMBA, 2020)

His wife, Terry Wanjiku Kariuki, was at home when she received a call from a stranger who said,” Have you checked whether your husband is lying in the morgue?” The stranger later identified himself as an Israeli businessman. Terry told the “Israeli businessman” that they had been at the City Mortuary twice and had not seen Josiah Kariuki's body or been told about it. He then told Mrs. Kariuki, the third wife of Mr. Kariuki, “Just check again.”

Mrs. Kariuki rushed to the mortuary and to her surprise she was told a decomposed body had been brought by police into the mortuary. She was sadly accompanied by the other two wives of Josiah Kariuki. “My God, they have killed my husband,” she said as she tried to identify the body from the disfigured face. The body had the same green jacket and a dotted red scarf JM had worn on the morning he left his house never to return. For Terry Wanjiru to be sure it was her lost husband, she raised his torn trousers and spotted a familiar birthmark on his right thigh. Surprisingly, it was her husband’s body, Mr. Josiah Kariuki.

The three widows went to the parliament lounge from the mortuary where they kept on shouting, “They have killed our husband JM!” Some MPs gathered and rushed to the mortuary to confirm the incident. When the then business Vice President Daniel Arap Moi tried to cool the tension, he was told, “Shut up liar! You’re a government of murderers!” (Ngotho, 2020)

Often Josiah Kariuki kept on saying that he was living on borrowed time. This is because he suspected any time he would be killed by government operatives. Sources state that Josiah Kariuki had been threatened while playing arts over a drink at Nakuru’s Stag’s Head Hotel together with his bosom buddy former Nakuru town MP Mark Mwithaga. The then Nakuru mayor Mburu Gichua and a friend entered the hotel directly to where Josiah Kariuki was. The mayor said threatening words to Josiah Kariuki, “You want to cause trouble in Nakuru. Just be warned. Your days are numbered. We are going to finish you.”

This statement scared JM because while in Nairobi, he had been told by an assistant minister, Godfrey Gitahi better known as GG Kariuki that a secret meeting had been held in Nakuru. The meeting’s agenda was mainly to eliminate him. Moreover, he also told him the individuals involved in his assassination had held a meeting in the Nairobi Statehouse. In the meeting, they had identified some excerpts of JM’s fiery speeches as concrete evidence that the firebrand lawmaker was setting the stage for a revolution against the government. One excerpt was, “it was morally unacceptable to have a Kenya of 10 millionaires and 10 million beggars.”

Things got very intense and Josiah Kariuki's doctor told him to take a break. This was because of the threats he was getting and as well Josiah Mwangi's leg had a problem from a beating he had received during the Mau struggle. Therefore, Josiah Kariuki was told to go and take a break in a place like Mombasa. He planned the vacation by bus to Mombasa on March 1, 1975.

Fortunately, JM was advised to cancel the trip because he was being trailed. He also did not tell his associate who he suspected was involved in the trial that he had canceled the trip. Later, the bus he was to board for Mombasa from Nairobi, exploded from a bomb planted in it. The explosion killed 27 passengers and Josiah Kariuki could have been the 28th if not for the tip-off. However, the assassins didn’t leave it there after missing their target. (KHAEMBA, 2020)

The next day, March 2, 1975, was the unknowing fateful day for Josiah Mwangi Kariuki. The then GSU commander and JM's childhood friend Beth Gethi asked JM for an emergency meeting. In the meeting, Josiah Kariuki was to be interrogated by Special Branch officers. Little did he know it was a set-up? However, Josiah Kariuki was hesitant to go to the meeting because he felt it was a trap. Moreover, he had no pistol for protection after Nyandarua's District Commissioner Joseph Thuo had withdrawn it. Ben Gethi then asked him to honor the summon and that he would cover him in case anything would happen at the Special Branch headquarters on Kingsway House along University Way, Nairobi.

In an interview in 2020 with Standard Media, James Lando Khwatenge, former member of the Special Branch said, “JM had a sixth sense telling him all was not well…he told Gethi he was reluctant since he was not armed… Gethi gave him a loaded service pistol…so he went for the meeting armed and only Gethi knew about it. From Ole Dume Road, they drove to the meeting where he found a hostile interrogation panel. Mean-looking men who appeared impatient.” At this moment is when Josiah Kariuki was murdered by his childhood friend and GSU Commandant Ben Gethi who had walked him to the gallows. (KTN News Kenya , 2020)

James Lando Khwatenge explained at the scene there was somebody called Wanyoike Thuku who was arguing with Josiah Kariuki. He then struck him and JM's teeth came out. When Josiah Kariuki tried to go for his gun, Ben Gethi who was seated behind him shot him and fractured his hand.

Furthermore, James Lando Khwatenge further explained, “JM shooting Thungu using a GSU pistol would have landed Gethi in trouble… a decision was made to silence JM forever to avoid him telling the whole country that he had been shot inside Kingsway House. They knew that JM with a plastered hand would not keep quiet... that is when a decision was made to kill him. (KHAEMBA, 2020)

James Lando Khwatenge said that the killers were in tension and didn’t know where to take the lifeless body of JM. Moreover, they didn’t know what to tell President Jomo Kenyatta. “Here was somebody who was not supposed to be killed … they went down and carjacked a pickup transporting meat.” Khwatenge further said that they took the body and dumped it into Ngong Forest by the pickup hoping it would be eaten by hyenas. “Funny people killed around the area had their bodies eaten by hyenas…but JM’s wasn’t eaten,” said James Lando. On the same Sunday family and friends reported Josiah Kariuki missing after failing to return home despite their search.

JM's body was later found at City Mortuary with a tag on his leg labeled “Luo Gangster.” Assumptions were made that his 3 missing teeth had been knocked down to confirm he was Luo. “On the legs, there was a label,’ said KTN journalist Mwithaiga from footage shot by Journalist Victor Riitho and a friend of JM's.

The killing of Josiah Kariuki raised tension in Kenya. The government had to stop the riot that had been planned by the University of Nairobi students. Moreover, the government denied involvement in the murder of the former Nyandarua’s MP. Ironically, Pheroze Nowrojee, a High court advocate said, “If the government was not involved, why the cover-up? Why did Kenyatta bring out the military and inspected a guard of honor from Ronald Ngala Street to Moi Avenue outside Kenya Cinema? As Kenyatta wanted it to be, the Kanu dictatorship was really to scare any revolution by ordinary people.” (KHAEMBA, 2020)

To sum up, Josiah Mwangi Kariuki's death has remained a mystery. Those who were said to be involved have never faced the law and there is no hope they will ever.

REFERENCES

KHAEMBA, D. (2020). MURDER MOST FOUL: JM KARIUKI’S FINAL 48 HOURS. Nairobi: standardmedia.

KTN News Kenya . (2020, 12 26). Videos. Retrieved from Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=725550708340232

Kugler, R. A. (n.d.). Kariuki, J. M. encyclopedia, 1-1.

Ngotho, K. (2020). How JM Kariuki tried to escape death. Nation, 1-10.

Otzen, E. (2015, 03 11). Africa. Retrieved from BBC News: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-31817667