NAIROBI,Kenya Dec 27-Long before he became a familiar figure in Kenya’s political arena, Cyrus Jirongo had already built a solid business empire, according to close associates.
The Former Lugari MP died on December 13, 2025, following a fatal road accident along the Nairobi–Nakuru highway.
The once-powerful businessman was driving his Mercedes-Benz car when he collided head-on with a bus. He was 64.
Jirongo ranked among Kenya’s most influential political operatives and businessmen at his peak in the early 1990s, rising rapidly during the KANU era as chairman of Youth for KANU 1992 (YK-92).
Beyond politics, his name also became synonymous with large-scale real estate developments, high-value land holdings, and some of the most protracted property disputes in Kenya.
Fred Amayo, a longtime friend and confidant, described Jirongo as a man whose success predated his entry into politics.
“By the time I met Jirongo before we started YK92, when he was just in his late 20s, going to 30s, he had already built Hazina Estate. He was building Kemri Estate. We were on site in Saika Estate. This getting into politics is what has caused Jirongo all these waves right through his life,” Amayo said.
Amayo also dismissed claims that Jirongo’s wealth stemmed from political office. Rumours were rife Jirongo became filthy rich and amassed wealth during Moi’s time. He, however, ran into financial woes and legal battles, including bankruptcy declarations.
“Jirongo was already a successful man before he got into politics. And those who are propagating these stories that he made his money from politics, I know for a fact that when Jirongo was a member of parliament, he never even spent a shilling out of his salary as an MP. It used to go to the people of Lugari,” he added.
Philip Kisia, another close associate of Jirongo, echoed Amayo’s account. Beyond politics, his name also became synonymous with large-scale real estate developments, high-value land holdings, and some of the most protracted property disputes in Kenya.
“He was an astute businessperson. He had made millions of shillings before joining politics. If you ask me, I think politics destroyed my brother Cyrus. Cyrus made no money from politics. But rather he lost. So, and thank you, my brother, Amayo, for making that clarification,” Kisia said.
Debt Crisis
An unprecedented intersection of political influence and aggressive property development defined the career of the former Lugari MP and Cabinet Minister.
While his proximity to power initially fueled a meteoric rise, it eventually led to a catastrophic financial collapse characterized by massive unserviced loans, state repossessions, and decades of legal warfare.
At the heart of his business empire were Sololo Outlets Limited and Kuza Farms & Allied Limited, entities through which he orchestrated major housing and land projects that would eventually become the subject of protracted court battles and debt recovery efforts.
In the 1990s, Jirongo emerged as one of the most prominent borrowers from the now-defunct Postbank Credit Limited. This state-owned institution collapsed after distributing billions of shillings in unsecured or poorly collateralized loans to politically connected individuals. In 1993, his firm, Offshore Trading Company, secured a loan of Ksh 1.1 billion using 1,000 acres in Ruai as collateral.
The following year, Sololo Outlets Limited borrowed an additional Ksh 1.65 billion using a 2.5-acre parcel in Mukuru kwa Reuben. Because these loans were issued before Kenya implemented the in duplum rule which caps interest at the principal amount the debt ballooned.
By the time the Kenya Deposit Insurance Corporation (KDIC) stepped in as liquidator, the total claim had surged to over Ksh 40 billion, with the Ruai loan alone accounting for more than half that figure.
The 1,000-acre Ruai property remains the most legally convoluted asset in the Jirongo portfolio. Originally part of a massive reserve for the Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company, the land was subdivided and transferred to private entities following a presidential directive in the mid-90s.
Although the government repossessed and gazetted the land as protected public property in 2020, ownership disputes persisted.
In 2024, the Environment and Land Court cancelled titles held by Renton Company Limited, ruling the land had been illegally acquired.
However, by April 2025, the Court of Appeal granted a temporary 18-month stay of that decree, allowing Renton to retain possession of 1,643 acres while the substantive ownership questions remain unresolved.
Similar controversies surrounded the 2.5-acre Mukuru kwa Reuben site, which currently houses a primary school, police station, and maternity clinic.
Despite being public utility land, it was used as loan collateral. In 2016, Nairobi County entered an out-of-court settlement to pay Ksh 250 million for the land on the condition that Jirongo provide a clean title.
Court records indicate that while the county released the full payment, the conditions were never met. This payout later drew the attention of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), which summoned recipients of the funds to explain the transactions, though many claimed the money was for unrelated debt settlements.
Jirongo’s influence also extended to high-profile housing estates such as Hazina in South B, Saika, and Kemri Estate.
The Hazina project, built on land belonging to the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), resulted in a prolonged dispute over compensation.
Jirongo eventually demanded up to Ksh 1.4 billion and even offered to refund previous payments to repossess the estate. The NSSF rejected this, instead issuing individual titles to homeowners and effectively ending his claim.
Meanwhile, in Uasin Gishu, his company Kuza Farms lost a 103-acre parcel in Chepkoilel, which included a salt factory, after it was auctioned in 2018 to recover debts owed to the collapsed Dubai Bank Kenya.
The scale of these liabilities eventually outpaced his influence, leading to a formal declaration of bankruptcy by the High Court in 2017 over a Ksh 700 million debt. His final years were marked by legal indignities, including a brief detention in 2018 over an unpaid Ksh 20 million loan, where he relied on political allies to secure his bail.
By the time of his passing, the vast majority of his assets had been auctioned, repossessed, or frozen.
Despite this financial ruin, he is remembered as a graduate of Mang’u High School, a master political mobilizer, and a flamboyant philanthropist who once led AFC Leopards and served as a Minister for Rural Development.
