Time Tom Mboya's 'Dead' Killer Was Spotted in Zambia 

om Mboya with students of his alma mater, Mang'u High School in November 1963.
Tom Mboya with students of his alma mater, Mang'u High School in November 1963.
The Standard

Nahashon Isaac Njenga Njoroge, the man charged with the murder of Tom Mboya, was reportedly spotted sipping away at an ice-cold beer at a local bar in the heart of Lusaka, Zambia.

In what was the biggest controversy at the time, the late West Mugirango MP George Justus Morara, took to a makeshift podium outside Parliament Building, Nairobi in September 1970, and made the startling revelation.

The nation was shocked as the government had announced that the killer was found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging, making his appearance in Zambia a year later a real mystery.

Morara, who was 34 years old at the time, issued the government with an ultimatum over the saga.

Former West Mugirango MP George Justus Morara.
Former West Mugirango MP George Justus Morara.
File

Sadly, he was involved in a tragic accident just 2 days later, and his shocking press conference was soon forgotten.

On August 19, 1969, Njenga stood trial at the High Court after he was charged with the murder of the Cabinet Minister on July 5, 1969.

Njenga was a student at the high-profile school, Vasil Levski Higher Military Academy, named after a Bulgarian revolutionary who led an armed uprising of all Bulgarians during the Ottoman Empire.

According to his diploma certificates presented in court, he was trained in internal combustion engines, military techniques and firing preparations.

The convicted assassin was said to have been part of a controversial group of KANU youth wingers that had been picked by Mboya and the late Oginga Odinga to take up training courses in Bulgaria.

The police were thus puzzled as to why a man that Mboya trusted turned into his killer. 51 years later and the question remains unanswered.

Nahashon Isaac Njenga Njoroge. (front). The assassin was reportedly hanged at Kamiti Prison for the murder of Tom Mboya on July 5, 1969.
Nahashon Isaac Njenga Njoroge. (front). The assassin was reportedly hanged at Kamiti Prison for the murder of Tom Mboya on July 5, 1969.
File

Upon his return from Bulgaria, Njenga dived right into Nairobi’s fast life. 

His car, a Simca registration number KGR 250, was always parked at The Princess Hotel (which was ironically located along what is now Tom Mboya Street) where he used to drink.

He rented a house in Ofafa Jericho in Plot No U3, House number 4486, and also had another house in Banana Hill, on Limuru Road.

Njenga had a private office in Lombard House’s Room 27, from where, he ran his businesses that included second hand car sales company, Kemco Motors, located along University Way.

On the fateful day, Njenga is said to have walked up to the minister as he stepped out of Chhani’s Pharmacy on Government Road’s (Moi Avenue today), and shot him at point-blank range, before vanishing into the crowd.

Sixteen days later, as violent protests rocked Nairobi and Kisumu, Njenga was charged with the murder.

Watch Njenga being brought in for his trial below:

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Prior to embarking on his alleged mission, Njenga is said to have spent part of the day at a bar in Ngara.

It was here that he met a Kamiti prisons cleaner, identified Mary Njeri Munyuiri (who testified during his hearing) and remarked: “Mboya is a bad man”.

“Njenga told me he would go to look for Mboya. And, after seeing him, he would shoot him," reads an excerpt from her police statement.

Why Mboya had falling out with his ex-youth winger Njenga, was never made clear. 

Njenga never denied being in possession of the killer weapon, which he claimed to have been keeping for a longtime friend who was with him at the Bulgaria military school.

The charismatic Minister's murder remains under the unsolved mysteries category, as the motive behind the assassination was never revealed.

Family and friends mourn the late Tom Mboya during his funeral in 1969.
Family and friends mourn the late Tom Mboya during his funeral in 1969.
File
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