The country saw protests erupt without any clear leadership to guide them, catching many by surprise. The protests created a challenging situation for the government, as they had no specific individual or group to engage with to quell the protests.
In an interview with Citizen TV, Omwansa M. Omwansa, a student leader at Mount Kenya University, professed, “We know our leader is one and he is Jacob Juma,” referring to Jacob Juma being the leader of Gen Z.
The posts on X, formerly Twitter, that Jacob Juma posted have fuelled the flame of Kenyan Gen Zs as they fight for their rights. Mentioning his name has increased people’s curiosity about who Jacob Juma truly was.
Jacob Juma was born in 1971 in Bugoma County, and his primary education was done at his local village. His secondary education was done at Bugoma High School where he excelled and moved up the education ladder to Kenyan Polytechnic.
Due to his financial background, Jacob Juma’s higher education was sponsored by Cyrus Jirongo. Rubbing shoulders with influential political figures saw Juma venture into business and politics, making him a billionaire. His versed connections within the government enabled him to get a tender in supplying the National Cereal Board with maize.
The tender did not go as planned as matters of corruption started arising. This would not be the first turmoil Juma would face. In 2012, Juma was working with a Canadian company, Cortec Mining Limited, to help them acquire a license.
The government would revoke the license due to unknown reasons. Juma would come out calling out the then Mining Cabinet Secretary, Najib Balala, for asking for a Ksh 80 million bribe to restore the license. Mining CS Najib Balala would deny all allegations.
This is believed to be what broke the camel’s back. Juma started using his social media platforms to give insight into corruption in the country, from President Ruto’s Weston hotel land saga to the Eurobond saga and also the NYS scandal. Juma blew the whistle on the corrupt dealings happening in the country.
His actions would see him put a target on his back. In 2015, Juma tweeted about President Ruto’s plan to kill him. Juma would also tweet about alleged meetings occurring planning his assassination.
His tweets would come to be a prophecy of his future as he was shot dead on May 6, 2016, as he was driving. Juma would succumb to death after being shot 7 times.
