City tycoon Joel Kibe when he appeared in court for causing death via drink-driving in 2016
Controversial city tycoon Joel Kibe has been unmasked as the owner of the collapsed seven-storey building that killed three people and left scores injured in Kasarani, Nairobi, on 16th November 2022.
Before it collapsed, the residential building was under construction and had shown signs of weakness, including visible cracks.
Government officials had inspected the construction site and asked workers to leave, but the developer told them to continue.
Kibe, a former director with the Cooper Motors Corporation (CMC) and the Chairman of the Jubilee Party Business Council, has since fled into hiding in Europe as he tries to sort out the dirty mess.
Sources say he is in deep panic and afraid of returning to Kenya, where a new regime—which he vehemently opposed in the last elections—is now in power.
During the 2022 campaigns, Kibe was part of the infamous Mt Kenya billionaires club that showered Azimio La Umoja coalition with wads of cash, hoping they would emerge victorious.
He personally contributed over Sh200 million to the Raila Odinga-led outfit, which dreadfully lost to President William Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza Alliance in the hotly contested August polls.
The loss was a big blow to Kibe, who previously enjoyed deep connections in Rtd. President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration.
This granted him the privilege to get away with all sorts of crimes, including murder, land grabbing and fraud.
In February 2016, Kibe was charged with causing death by dangerous driving under the influence of alcohol in Runda, Nairobi.
He was accused of knocking down a sentry box and injuring Charles Wachira, who later succumbed to injuries.
He was released on a cash bail of Sh100,000.
A video clip of the incident that circulated on social media showed that Kibe has no regard for human life.
He equated the bodily harm on the soldier to the dent in his vehicle.
“Nimepiga barrier, gari yangu imeumia, tumeumia sisi sote,” a visibly drunk Kibe slurred at the scene of the crime.
In June this year, he was accused of grabbing a two-acre piece of land belonging to former State House junior employee Samson Kandie in Runda, Nairobi.
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