Wamuzi News Ke
The probe into veteran politician Cyrus Jirongo’s death has taken a turn when a petrol station security guard gave an eyewitness account that flatly contradicts the bus driver who was involved in the fatal collision that claimed the former Lugari MP’s life.
The opposing testimonies have not only heightened public interest but also stirred new inquiries about the situation of the misfortune. The fatal accident happened between 4:00 and 5:00 AM on December 13, 2025, on the Nairobi—Nakuru Highway close to Karai, in Naivasha Sub-County.
The 64-year-old Jirongo was declared dead on the spot after his Mercedes car collided head-on with a Climax Coach bus, which was said to be carrying around 65 passengers.
The bus driver’s initial account claimed that Jirongo had just visited the petrol station and was trying to overtake, thus entering the driver’s lane and causing the accident. On the contrary, however, Ephraim Cheptek, a security guard at the petrol station next to the accident scene, has told quite a different story.
Cheptek, who claims he was the only one working that night, stressed that the road was quiet and there were no cars moments before the crash and he denies the assumption that Jirongo’s actions were influenced by bad traffic.
“The road was calm and there was no traffic,” Cheptek said to the reporters, further adding that other cars came only after the crash.
The guard, for his part, clearly drew Jirongo’s behaviour regarding the petrol station as something strange. To Cheptek’s narrative, Jirongo while driving slowly as if to fill his tank, suddenly went through the forecourt without stopping and took the highway.
As per his testimony, Jirongo did not even stop or yield before entering the road, directly coming into the way of the bus coming from the opposite side.
Cheptek’s account not only counters the previously set story of the erstwhile politician having been the one to pass in and out of cars amongst heavy traffic but also implies that an altogether different set of events could have taken place.
Tirus Kamau, the bus driver, on the other hand, insisted that Jirongo had tried to overtake another car just when he was leaving the gas station and his assertion was that the traffic on the lane coming to Nairobi forced Jirongo to be in Kamau’s way.
The driver, Kamau claimed, tried his best to avoid it but he was not able just to the extent of preparing himself for the impact and thus saving his passengers.The different versions have sparked a new round of public discussions and also put pressure on the investigative bodies to declare what really happened.
Already there are no new independent witnesses putting themselves forward but the analysts say the differing testimonies indicate the necessity for a complete forensic examination.
Such would include analysis of CCTV footage, mobile phone data and vehicle telematics if accessible, among others.The demand for a more thorough investigation is being heard even outside the statements of eyewitnesses.
Political partners and some civil society organizations have been vocal in their demand for a full government investigation into the circumstances surrounding Jirongo’s death. They highlight that the discrepancies in the various accounts point to legitimate concerns which need to be dealt with through a rigorous inquiry.
These voices underscore that an unequivocal explanation is pivotal to the family’s quest for closure and to the public’s trust in the manner high-profile cases are handled and reported.The late politician’s sudden change of route to Naivasha instead of going straight to his home in Nairobi has already confused both relatives and friends, and has also made people wonder more about the reason he was at that place before the accident.
The funeral of Jirongo is thought to be on December 30, 2025, at his family estate in Lumakanda, Kakamega County, but the unresolved issues concerning his last movements and the exact order of events have turned the death into a national curiosity.
