Pius Mbugua: The wheeler-dealer caught up in Dr Mutiso's murder

 Pius Muiru Mbugua. [File.]

For months, desperate job seekers chased interviews, filled forms and waited for the one thing they wanted most: employment.

In their search, they encountered Pius Muiru Mbugua. To them, he was a man who appeared to know the right people and could open doors that had remained firmly shut.

Mbugua allegedly claimed he could secure teaching jobs on permanent and pensionable terms, telling applicants he had contacts at the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) headquarters who could facilitate their employment and deployment.

But the promises, according to a group of applicants, would eventually turn into a trail of payments, unanswered calls, shifting explanations and complaints to investigators.

The allegations offer a glimpse into another side of Mbugua, a self-styled fixer, who, according to the applicants, presented himself as a man capable of delivering jobs through his political and government connections.

Mbugua is now caught up in the murder case involving Dr Victoria Mutiso who was gunned down in Nairobi. He was arrested in Uganda alongside Police Constable Collins Kiplangat in connection with the murder.

One applicant, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said desperation drove them to take the chance.

The applicant said they were introduced to Mbugua through a personal assistant to another Member of Parliament.

“We had attended so many interviews and only wanted jobs that is how we were introduced to Muiru,” the applicant said.

Mbugua allegedly showed them deployment letters which he claimed to have helped other people secure, reinforcing their belief that he had the connections he claimed.

Between late 2024 and August 2025, the applicants said, about 20 people from different parts of the country dealt with Mbugua over promised teaching positions.

The alleged price depended on the position. Applicants seeking primary-school teaching jobs  were allegedly asked to pay Sh180,000, while those seeking senior-school positions were asked for Sh275,000.

“Mbugua said he was working with a guy at the TSC HQ and wanted some money to facilitate the process. Applicants seeking primary-school teaching jobs were being asked to pay Sh180,000, while those seeking senior-school positions were asked for Sh275,000,” he said.

Payments, according to the source, were made through Mbugua's M-Pesa and bank accounts.

Some of the first dealings with Mbugua allegedly took place at an office associated with Molo MP Kuria Kimani in KICC. At the time, according to the applicant, Mbugua was working as the MP's personal assistant.

It was there, they said, that some of the first application forms were issued.

Later, Mbugua reportedly was no longer at the MP's office and he subsequently operated from other locations, including Westlands.

Application forms were also allegedly sent to prospective applicants through Speed Post in other parts of the country.

For the job seekers, the offices, documents and political connections made the arrangement appear legitimate.

Then the promised letters failed to materialise, and Mbugua stopped picking calls.

By April 2025, the applicants said, Mbugua had become increasingly difficult to reach.

When he responded, they said, he blamed the delays on a person he claimed was assisting him at TSC headquarters. He allegedly claimed that he had fallen out with the TSC contact.

It was around this time, the applicant said, that Mbugua introduced them to Samuel Karanja, alias Wakili.

Karanja allegedly told the applicants that the fallout between Mbugua and the TSC contact had disrupted the process.

He allegedly asked the applicants to send additional money, claiming that Mbugua had not paid the amount required to facilitate issuance of the letters.

For applicants who had already parted with hundreds of thousands of shillings, the new demand raised further questions.

The applicants said they eventually went back to the office where Mbugua had been working, only to discover that he was no longer there.

They were allegedly informed that he had been fired as the MP's personal assistant and was operating from an office in Westlands.

As frustration grew, complaints were lodged in different locations.

One of the complaints was pursued at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) station in Mweiga, Nyeri County.

Mbugua eventually appeared at the station accompanied by Karanja. During the meeting, the applicants said, Mbugua agreed to refund money in relation to the complaint. He allegedly indicated that Karanja would prepare an agreement setting out how the refund would be made.

The agreement was never signed, according to the applicants.

After leaving the DCI station in May 2025, the applicant said, Mbugua switched off his phone.

Occasionally, he would switch it back on and ask the applicants not to disclose too much information about him, claiming that he feared for his life.

The applicants eventually left the matter with the DCI. At least 23 people had sought employment through Mbugua.

After leaving Mweiga, the applicants said, Mbugua disappeared and later travelled to Uganda leaving some of the applicants searching for answers over the money they had paid and the jobs they had been promised.

Some applicants eventually secured employment, although they said they could not establish whether those jobs were connected to Mbugua.

They also acknowledge that they did not independently verify the authenticity of the application or deployment letters circulated by Mbugua.

While trying to locate him after he allegedly failed to honour a summons, the applicants said they heard claims that he was involved in a separate gold-related scam. The source said they did not verify that allegation as they were interested in their teaching job.

A section of Molo residents however, claimed to have Mbugua accompanying Molo MP Kuria Kimani to social events in the constituency after he fired his previous personal assistant.

"After firing his former PA, Mbugua  accompanying the MP created the notion that he was the new replacement. He however, disappeared shortly afterwards and to date, we don't know who took over the role," said a resident who sought anonymity.

When reached for comment, Kuria said that he knew the suspect but dismissed claims that he ever worked as his personal assistant, as alleged by some of the victims.

Kuria said that he only met him severally at Parliament, where he acted as a fixer for MPs who wanted a stage in the mainstream media.

"Mbugua has never been my personal assistant or worked directly under me. I know him as a man who used to hang around Parliament and would link MPs to live talk shows on TV," said Kuria.

He explained that it was through this interaction that he would give him short term gigs, adding that none of the victims of his extortion ever reported the matter to him.

"A thug is a thug and he has been arrested for another crime which he should be investigated for. No complainant ever came to me claiming they had been conned," said Kuria.