Three convicted in 2018 Kilifi fake-tender murder of Nairobi businessman Jiraw
Key points
- Justice Wendy Kagendo Micheni convicted three men of murdering Nairobi businessman Kassim Jiraw (Sokorow) in a 2018 Kilifi case.
- Convicts: Eddlied Mandi Jilani (ex-Kilifi county driver), Makonde Ruwa Buni, Ngira Karisa Charo.
- Lure alleged: fake Sh23m hospital supply tender; Jiraw paid Sh650,000 “facilitation.”
- Body found burned in Arabuko Sokoke; post-mortem: strangulation then sulphuric acid; sentencing 30 July 2026.
After an eight-year trial and more than ten prosecution witnesses, Justice Wendy Kagendo Micheni found three men guilty of murdering Nairobi businessman Kassim Jiraw — also known as Sokorow — who was drawn to Kilifi on a promise of a Sh23 million county hospital tender, Eastleigh Voice reported.
Convicted: former Kilifi County driver Eddlied Mandi Jilani, Makonde Ruwa Buni and Ngira Karisa Charo, under sections 203 and 204 of the Penal Code. The judge held the killing was the natural consequence of a common design, so each shares criminal responsibility. Bonds for the first two accused were cancelled; a warrant issued for the third. Mitigation and sentence are listed for 30 July 2026.
The tender bait and the forest dump
Prosecutors said Jiraw paid about Sh650,000 in facilitation after being promised a deal to supply X-ray foils and air conditioners to Kilifi hospitals — and even a seat on a county tender committee. The tender later went elsewhere. Called back to “formalise” paperwork, he vanished. Days later a defaced, charred body was recovered in the Arabuko Sokoke Forest near Malindi. A post-mortem at Malindi Level 4 Hospital found he had been strangled, then burned with sulphuric acid.
A business associate described money transfers to Mandi and prior Kilifi meetings. Charo had earlier confessed to strangling Jiraw on Mandi’s hire before withdrawing the confession as coerced — a classic trial fracture the court resolved against the accused on the full record.
Why the case still matters beyond Kilifi
It is a template crime: public-office access used to bait private cash, then lethal cover-up. County procurement desks and DCI commercial crime units should treat fake-tender WhatsApp trails as high-risk by default. Crime desk: Crime.
Families waiting on sentence day need victim-impact space in open court. EACC and county auditors can still chase the paper trail of the Sh23m “award” even after the murder verdict. Public trust recovers only when both the killers and the procurement fiction are fully mapped.
Based on Eastleigh Voice reporting of Justice Micheni’s judgment. Sentencing outcomes and any appeals will update the legal status.
