In 2003, after a long career in senior Kazakh government positions, such as Information Minister and Ambassador to Russia, Sarsenbayuly joined the opposition ranks in protest against what he regarded as the administration's authoritarian policies.

[8] On 22 January 1999, after the Ministry was merged, he was appointed as the Minister of Culture, Information and Public Accord until becoming the secretary of the Security Council of Kazakhstan on 5 May 2001.

[15] On 13 February 2006 the bodies of Sarsenbayuly, his bodyguard and his driver were found dead on a road near the city of Almaty, reportedly lying face-down, hands tied on their back, and shot in the head at point blank range.

On 22 February 2006 five officers of Kazakhstan's KNB security service, and specifically the elite Arystan combat division, were arrested for involvement in Sarsenbayuly's murder.

Nartay Dutbayev, the chief national security officer in the government, resigned on 23 February, the day after his subordinates were arrested.

[19] Ordway praised the "exceptional cooperation" between Kazakh law enforcement and the American Federal Bureau of Investigation, and that the FBI's results were consistent with the findings of the Kazakhstani Procurator General.