Slain Mumias Sugar legal officer ‘said no to illegal sugar’

What you need to know:

  • Three MPs from western Kenya have alleged that Mr Lubya was being coerced by some people to sign for illegal sugar, which was in turn to be branded as a Mumias consignment and released to the market for sale, but he refused.
  • Mr Lubya was killed at his rural home in Kholera sub-location in Matungu Constituency on Sunday night.
  • He was shot in the head and was taken to St Mary’s Mission Hospital in Mumias, but died while undergoing treatment.

The refusal to authorise imports of illegal sugar and the release of money for campaigns are the strongest leads in the killing of Mumias Sugar Company legal officer Ronald Lubya.

Three MPs from western Kenya have alleged that Mr Lubya was being coerced by some people to sign for illegal sugar, which was in turn to be branded as a Mumias consignment and released to the market for sale, but he refused.

Addressing a press conference at Parliament in Nairobi on Monday, MPs Ayub Savula (Lugari), Alfred Agoi (Sabatia) and Yusuf Chanzu (Vihiga) described Mr Lubya's death as unfortunate, saying he died protecting public money.

“It is sad that now we have resorted to killing public officers who are protecting public funds from being misused in political campaigns. Let political parties get money for their campaigns from the right sources,” said Mr Agoi.

“We call on the police to speedily investigate the killing of Mr Lubya and justice must be done to the people of Kenya,” added the Sabatia legislator.

RURAL HOME

Mr Lubya was killed at his rural home in Kholera sub-location in Matungu Constituency on Sunday night.

He was shot in the head and was taken to St Mary’s Mission Hospital in Mumias, but died while undergoing treatment.

Mr Agoi warned principal secretaries and public officials not to allow themselves to be used by politicians in looting public money to finance political activities.

Mr Chanzu said there was a lot of illegally imported sugar in the country branded with names of local sugar factories and when Mr Lubya refused to be part of the illegality, he was killed.

The Vihiga MP challenged the government to provide an account of what it has achieved since it started investing in Mumias.

WOO THE PEOPLE

“The government tried to use Mumias to woo the people of western Kenya to vote for them, it is now time to give us their results,” he said.

“This time we want investigations that will yield results, we know that high-profile cases in this country have never been fully investigated and concluded but on this one, we want results,” said Mr Chanzu.
Mr Savula said all top managers at Mumias should be interrogated.

“Our party leader Musalia Mudavadi talked about the intrigues in Mumias during the Nasa rally in Kakamega on Saturday, then on Sunday, Mr Lubya was killed. The top managers must be investigated so that they can tell the police what they know about the killing,” he said.

LAUNCHED MANHUNT

Meanwhile in Kakamega, police have launched a manhunt for three armed men suspected of killing Mr Lubya.

The gangsters are said to have been in camouflage uniforms similar to those worn by police.

Western region police coordinator Moses Ombati said the men abandoned a stolen vehicle at Kabula market, on the Mumias-Bungoma road.

He said police were pursuing all possible angles that could help unravel the motive behind the killing of the sugar firm’s legal officer.

The victim’s wife, Josephine Lubya, said the attackers waylaid her husband when he left the house to answer a call of nature. The couple screamed for help before he was shot.

“One of the robbers walked into the kitchen and warned he would shoot me if I raised the alarm,” she said.

RANSACKED HOUSE

The gang ransacked the house for cash and valuables after harassing the woman during the 10pm attack.

Mr Lubya, who was lying in a pool of blood, had his hands tied with ropes from behind. His wife’s hands were also tied before she was assaulted.

The robbers stole a laptop and a briefcase containing documents before escaping in the family vehicle.

Mrs Lubya said her husband had just arrived from Nairobi, where he had attended the sugar miller’s board meeting, and had been resting at their newly built house before tragedy struck.

“I went to pick him up from the airport in Kisumu ... We drove to Bungoma to refill our gas cylinder and returned home by 5pm,” she recounted.

The gangsters, who wore hoods, pounced on her husband shortly after he stepped out of the house as she was cooking.

CUT WIRE FENCE
The killers had entered the compound by cutting through a wire fence and were waiting to attack.

One of the gangsters went to the kitchen and ordered her to lie down without a sound.

Ms Lubya said that while she was lying on the floor, two men in jungle uniforms entered the house and demanded money.

“They told me they had finished with my husband and if I didn’t comply, they would shoot me dead,” she tearfully said.

She said two of the gangsters then went outside the house and came back dragging her husband, who was bleeding profusely.

GROANED IN PAIN

They then wrapped the wound in his head with a bed sheet as he groaned in pain.

They then dragged her into her bedroom and assaulted her.

“They ate the food I had prepared for our dinner before they left in our car with the stolen electronic gadgets,” she said.

Mrs Lubya said her husband had been jovial before the attack but had appeared restless in the past two weeks.

Reports by Samwel Owino, Shaaban Makokha and Benson Amadala.