Slain tycoon raised storm on Twitter over graft in Govt

Mr Jacob Juma courted controversy, and his Twitter account was always afire. In 140 characters or less, he protested, lobbied and lampooned his foes.

At the time of his death, he had amassed 26,800 followers, and had sent 18,000 tweets.

Nobody, however rich or powerful, was spared, and few were a match for him online.

Mr Juma frequently turned his ire on President Uhuru Kenyatta, criticising him for inaction in the midst of rampant looting.

“@UKenyatta when your gov’t was looting, stealing openly, grabbing land, etc did the constitution exist? If so, did you arrest them?” he wrote on April 27.

He also accused the government of misusing Eurobond funds. On 26 April, Mr Juma tweeted: “Fellow Kenyans, I can today CONFIRM that part of Eurobond Money was used to bribe Judges at ICC over @UKenyatta and Ruto cases.”

On April 14, Mr Juma sent a warning to the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Ms Christine Lagarde, after a report by the fund said that Sh176 billion from the Eurobond had been spent in the 2013/2014 financial year, instead of the Sh34.6 billion indicated in the government’s Budget Policy Statement.

“Madam @Lagarde please note that Kenya gov’t accounts for missing Ksh176 billion Eurobond are cooked. IMF is colluding,” he tweeted.

Mr Juma frequently assailed the Deputy President online over land grabbing.

“I am fighting William Ruto over KCAA (Kenya Civil Aviation Authority) land grab by Weston hotel in court, Uhuru over Eurobond theft and Duale over GDC (Geothermal Development Company) fraud, they are bitter,” he tweeted on February 17.

The businessman suggested in a later tweet that the playground incident at Lang’ata Road Primary School, which generated international news coverage, had made a government he accused of corruption hesitant about land grabbing.

“After Lang’ata Road Primary School land grab fiasco, Jubilee gangsters resorted to stealing public cash. It is easier and more secretive,” he tweeted On 30 August 2015.

On May 3, he tweeted: “There can never be compensation when it comes to public land. Ruto should return public land that he grabbed from KCAA and demolish Weston.”

State House Digital strategist Dennis Itumbi had a long running twitter battle with Mr Juma.

On March 3, he tweeted that Mr Juma’s company, Erad Suppliers, had used fake documents to land a tender with the National Cereals and Produce Board.

Mr Juma countered with an image he claimed was a court ruling in his favour.

Mr Juma also expressed himself on the scandal at the National Youth Service that brought the Cabinet career of former Anne Waiguru to a halt.