In a bold attack that has shaken Kenya’s political class, Charles Ong’ondo Were, a serving Member of Parliament, was shot dead late Wednesday in what police have described as a “targeted and premeditated” killing.
Gunmen on a motorbike are said to have trailed the MP’s car along Ngong Road, one of Nairobi’s busiest highways. At a roundabout monitored by traffic police and surveillance cameras, one of the assailants dismounted and fired at close range.
The MP’s driver and bodyguard rushed him to Nairobi Hospital. He was declared dead on arrival.
Police spokesperson Muchiri Nyaga confirmed that the attackers appeared to have known their target. “The nature of this crime appears to be both targeted and predetermined,” he said in a statement on Thursday morning.
Mr Were, 46, represented Kasipul constituency in western Kenya and was serving his second term in parliament. A member of Raila Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), he had, just two months ago, claimed there was a plot against his life.
During a public rally in February, he addressed rising political tension in his home region. “When you hear I have been killed, Kasipul will not be the same again,” he warned. “But I know they won’t kill me because I have the Bible in my phone and another one under my pillow.”
The motive behind the killing remains unclear. Mr Were was widely seen as a calm, grassroots politician. But sources close to his office say he had faced resistance from within the local political establishment, particularly over resource allocations and campaign alignments.
President William Ruto has ordered a full investigation. “Those responsible must be held to account,” he said in a statement.
Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen visited the crime scene on Thursday. “The investigation has advanced,” he told reporters. Homicide detectives were seen inspecting the MP’s car and combing through CCTV footage from surrounding buildings.
The killing sparked outrage among lawmakers across party lines.
“He was fearless and deeply committed to his people,” said National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula. “This is a devastating loss to the nation.”
Opposition leader Raila Odinga, whose party Mr Were belonged to, issued a sharp condemnation. “He was mercilessly and in cold blood, gunned down by an assassin,” he said. “We have lost a gallant son of the soil.”
Mr Were had aligned himself with the so-called “broad-based” government – a coalition that emerged from a political détente between President Ruto and sections of the opposition. Some believe this may have deepened tensions with more radical elements within ODM, though there is no direct evidence linking this to his murder.
The area where the shooting occurred, near the Ngong Road roundabout, is usually busy and heavily monitored. The brazenness of the attack has raised questions about the state of security for public officials.
No arrests had been made by Thursday evening.
As Kenya absorbs the shock, calls for justice are growing louder. But in the streets of Nairobi and in Kasipul, there’s also fear — that the killing may signal deeper unrest in a country already grappling with economic strain and political division.
“Today it is Were,” said one shaken resident near the scene of the shooting. “Tomorrow it could be anyone.”
