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Death of Joseph Kubende brings to light day he escaped death, narrowly


On March 23, 2023, Mr Joseph Kubende passed away under mysterious circumstances, but the details of a brutal attack that almost claimed his life six years ago have now come to light.

Mr Kubende, an English and Literature teacher, was driving home on the night of May 21, 2017, when he was ambushed by a gang in Webuye Town, Bungoma County.

Also read: Police detail the last moments of author and artiste Joseph Kubende

The gang pulled him out of his Prado and began assaulting him, with two men wearing heavy boots kicking him on the head.

A third man was called from inside the pro-box car and proceeded to hit him with a metal bar, telling him that he can go on singing his political songs from hell.

Speaking at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County, where he was admitted then, Mr Kubende said that he fought tooth and nail not to enter the pro-box car saying that he believed the people could have harmed him even more.

“It was while I resisted that I was hit with a metal bar on the right hand, which fractured,” he said.

At the time of the attack, Mr Kubende was an artiste and poet who had been vocal about matters of corruption in Bungoma County, particularly during the tenure of Governor Kenneth Lusaka.

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He had spoken out against various scandals in the county, including the purchase of expensive wheelbarrows that cost Sh109,000.

He had even reported being trailed by unknown assailants in unmarked cars just days before the attack.

Mr Kubende’s attack was condemned by National Assembly Speaker Mr Moses Wetangula, who called it a cowardly move.

Though he survived the attack, the trauma from it lingered on until his unfortunate demise on March 23, 2023.

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