He built a thriving empire in transport with long-distance buses and lorries operating routes like Nairobi–Mombasa, Nairobi–Malaba, and oil haulage from Mombasa to Uganda/Bujumbura textiles a factory in downtown Nairobi, and other ventures.
He stayed close to President Jomo Kenyatta as a trusted advisor and friend. One notable project was helping organize the Karai Farmers Cooperative Society, which bought land in Nyahururu later called "Gwa Kungu" or Kungu's Place in his honor, now a bustling center.
He had travelled to the neighbouring country to collect a Ksh 19,000 debt from a woman, Margaret, who had taken goods from him and promised to pay later. On arriving at her shop, a heated exchange ensued and Margaret threatened to report Kung'u to her husband in the military.
Uganda, he was hosted by a Kenyan business couple Ibrahim Mungai and his wife Susan Wamaitha who helped him locate Margaret's shop.
When he got to the shop, the woman snubbed them so Kung'u, who had once been jailed with Kenyatta at Kapenguria, decided to report the matter to the police.
Since authorities were reluctant to follow up on his complaint, he resolved to confront Margaret again.
This claim was overheard or reported, and Ugandan soldiers under Idi Amin's regime allegedly interpreted it literally or used it as pretext.
That night, he was abducted, killed, and his body dumped in Mbira Forest. Drunken soldiers were later heard celebrating the killing of "Kenyatta's brother."
A barmaid informed his hosts the next morning. Efforts to recover the body including involving Colonel Isaac Maliyamungu, an advisor to Amin were unsuccessful or staged. Karumba's body was never found, and after seven years, he was declared legally dead.
His death remains unresolved to date as he was technically declared dead after his body was never found 7 years into his disappearance.
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