“The Boss: The Rise and Shadows of Harun Mwau”
“Power, Powder, and Politics: The Harun Mwau Story”
THE CRAZY STORY OF HARUN MWAU
From Olympic Cop to Alleged Drug Don. Billionaire. MP. “The Boss.”
On 25th June 2011, Central Police Station was just doing what it always does paperwork, noise, boredom.
A DCI officer was collecting samples from a car used in a drive-by shooting. Routine stuff.
Then… blood.
Not from a gunshot.
From his nose.
From his mouth.
One minute he’s standing.
The next boom he collapses.
Before First Aid could even warm up, mans was gone.
Dead.
No visible wounds.
No struggle.
No explanation.
But one detail made the room go quiet.
The officer had been investigating a file involving an MP whose codename in criminal circles was whispered, not said loud:
“THE BOSS.”
John Harun Mwau.
Suddenly, everyone prayed this death had nothing to do with him.
Because if it did… hii kesi ilikuwa bigger kuliko watu walikuwa tayari kukubali.
FROM MAKUENI DUST TO OLYMPIC RUNWAYS
Long before helicopters, billions and Parliament, Harun Mwau was just a school dropout from the dry lands of Makueni.
1968.
He walks into Kiganjo Police College with nothing but hunger and raw talent.
On the shooting range?
Different animal.
Mans was cold-blooded accurate.
A natural.
So good that Kenya picked him to represent the country in shooting at the 1968 & 1972 Olympics.
Back then, boarding a plane ilikuwa achievement yenyewe.
International travel? Elite status.
Medals?
He didn’t bring any home — ranked 76th and 50th.
But while others came back with photos and stories…
Mwau came back with NETWORKS.
And these weren’t your kawaida sports buddies.
THE CONNECTIONS THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING
Among the shooters and businessmen he met were men the US government would later say came from Colombia.
Men who didn’t deal in sports.
They dealt in white powder.
They were building an East African narcotics route and needed someone clean on paper, respected, and constantly crossing borders.
Who better than an Olympic cop?
Unfettered access.
No suspicion.
Easy movement.
They offered him a cheque that made hesitation impossible.
Mans alisema, “Sawa.”
For a while, he moved their weight.
Quietly.
Professionally.
And that’s when another door opened.
THE HUNTERS WITH OIL MONEY
Back then, trophy hunting was legal in Kenya.
Rich Arab men, drunk on oil money, wanted souvenirs — animal parts. Rare ones. Clean ones.
They heard of a man who could kill without visible bullet wounds.
Precision shooting. Surgical.
They found Mwau.
For these “special services,” they paid him his first real millions.
Hapo ndipo confidence ilianza.
So when the police job told him to shave his beard, he refused.
Claimed a skin condition.
They insisted.
He stood firm.
They fired him.
He smiled.
Because by then, he didn’t need a salary.
BUSINESS, POWER & A SEIZED PASSPORT
As a civilian, Mwau went full-time into logistics and trade.
Money came fast.
Power followed.
By 1983, serikali ilikuwa already uncomfortable.
They seized his passport, claiming he was involved in activities “undermining state authority.”
Mwau fought back in court.
And won.
That case opened his eyes.
He saw how power bends justice.
How enemies are crushed legally.
So he decided — “If you can’t beat them, enter the room.”
Politics.
POLITICS, CHOPPERS & BIG FLEXES
Problem?
Kenya was still under one-party rule after the failed 1982 coup.
So Mwau waited.
1991.
Section 2A repealed.
1992 — he launches his own party:
PICK — Party of Independent Candidates.
Goal?
Unseat Daniel arap Moi.
Reality?
He got 10,400 votes.
Lost badly.
But history remembers one thing:
He was the first presidential candidate to campaign using a HELICOPTER.
At 44, mans alikuwa flying over villages like a movie villain.
Money was loud.
So loud that in 1997, at a fundraiser, Mwau landed his chopper, walked up to Moi, and dropped Ksh 2.5 MILLION CASH.
Moi was impressed.
Too impressed.
ANTI-CORRUPTION BOSS… FOR 6 MONTHS
December 1997 — Moi appoints him Boss of the Kenya Anti-Corruption Agency.
Irony? Maximum.
Six months later, Mwau tries to prosecute top Treasury and KRA officials over a Ksh 230M tax fraud.
Moi fires him immediately.
Lesson learned.
Politics is not about fighting corruption.
It’s about choosing sides.
So Mwau went silent.
Back to business.
Out of the spotlight.
For a while.
RETURN TO THE GAME
After Kilome MP Tony Ndilinge was mysteriously shot dead, Mwau returned to campaigns.
His tactics were so sharp even opponents respected him.
By 2002, the message was clear:
“Usikuwe peke yako. Kuja upande wetu.”
He joined KANU.
Supported a young Uhuru Kenyatta with THREE helicopters.
Fun fact:
His personal driver then?
A young Kabogo.
Still… they lost to Mwai Kibaki.
That defeat finally pushed Mwau into “retirement.”
Or so it seemed.
THE HAUL THAT SHOOK THE COUNTRY
Just when the man was fading…
Cops discovered Ksh 6.4 BILLION worth of cocaine hidden in containers under his authority.
Biggest cocaine haul in Kenyan history.
No way to downplay that.
He denied it in court.
But Parliament didn’t whisper.
In 2010, Interior Security Minister George Saitoti named him — now an MP — among legislators linked to the narcotics trade.
Mwau denied again.
The US government, however, was not interested in stories.
They froze his assets.
Banned him from entering the US.
Cited the 2004 drug haul.
Mwau said he didn’t care.
Claimed going to the US would get him killed anyway.
THE FINAL TWIST
A week later…
His car was shot at.
News went wild.
Assassination attempt?
Turns out…
Stage-managed.
And just like that, the legend of “The Boss” became even harder to separate from myth, money, and shadows.
Cop.
Olympian.
Billionaire.
Politician.
Alleged drug baron.
In Kenya, some stories don’t end.
They just… disappear into silence.
……………………………………………………
