LUMAKANDA, Kakamega — In a send-off charged with cultural defiance and political fury, former Lugari MP Cyrus Jirongo was laid to rest yesterday not just with prayers, but with a lit torch—a solemn Tiriki ultimatum to his alleged killers.

The atmosphere at Lumakanda Primary School was thick with suspicion. While the government pathologist and police maintain that the veteran politician died from blunt force trauma in a tragic road accident on the Nairobi-Nakuru Highway, the message from the casket was clear: the community does not believe them.

The Tiriki Ultimatum

The defining moment of the ceremony came when Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale and former Minister Fred Gumo invoked the ‘torch’ ritual. In Tiriki tradition, burying a prominent leader with a light is not merely symbolic; it is a metaphysical weapon believed to hunt down those who shed innocent blood.

“We are not just burying a body; we are lighting a fire for the truth,” said Mr. Gumo, the burial committee co-chair. “If this was a normal accident, the torch will dim. But if a hand was involved, this light will expose them. It is only a matter of time.”

The ritual underscores a deepening rift between the state’s narrative and the sentiments on the ground. To the thousands of mourners present, the official police report—citing a head-on collision with a bus near Naivasha—felt too convenient for a man who had shaped Kenya’s political landscape for decades.

The Mystery of the ‘Missing Passengers’

Fueling the conspiracy theories are glaring inconsistencies in the timeline of Jirongo’s final hours. Former Vihiga Senator George Khaniri, who co-chaired the funeral committee, dropped a bombshell regarding CCTV footage allegedly recovered by private investigators.

“We have seen footage from Naivasha showing two unidentified people in the front seat with Mheshimiwa Jirongo,” Khaniri told the hushed crowd. “Yet, when the accident occurred, he was found alone. Where did they go? Did they vanish into thin air?”

Khaniri, who revealed he spoke to Jirongo just hours before the crash, claimed the politician was in high spirits. He challenged the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to explain the discrepancy. “Science does not lie, but people do. We demand a forensic audit of that vehicle and the movement of those phantom passengers.”

Political Crossfire

The funeral quickly morphed into a political trial, with 2027 succession politics taking center stage. The demand for answers turned personal when leaders questioned the movements of high-ranking officials on the night of the tragedy.

• The Wetang’ula Challenge: Senator Khalwale directly challenged National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula to disclose the details of his last meeting with Jirongo, alleged to have taken place at the Speaker’s parliamentary office shortly before the fatal trip.
• Threats Alleged: Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi claimed that Mr. Khaniri had received threats for digging too deep into the circumstances of the death. “Intimidation will not work. The torch has been passed to us, and we will not let it flicker,” Osotsi warned.
• State Defense: Government representatives, including Deputy Inspector General of Police Gilbert Masengeli, promised that “no stone would be left unturned,” urging patience as the inquest proceeds.

DAP-K leader Eugene Wamalwa and Narc-Kenya’s Martha Karua amplified calls for an independent inquest, with Karua revealing that Jirongo had recently expressed fears for his life. “He was a man under siege,” Karua noted. “We cannot accept a traffic report when the context screams assassination.”

A Legacy of Defiance

Cyrus Jirongo, once the face of the flamboyant ‘YK92’ lobby group, remained a kingmaker and a controversial figure until his last breath. His death has galvanized calls for Luhya unity, with speakers urging the region to use his passing as a catalyst to solidify their bargaining power ahead of the 2027 general election.

As the casket was lowered, the torch’s significance lingered over the grave—a warning to the powerful that in the court of public opinion, the case is far from closed.

“Let the police write their reports,” Mr. Gumo concluded, his voice echoing across the valley. “Our tradition has its own way of finding justice. The torch is lit. We wait.”