Charles Were: The MP shot dead two months after warning his life in danger

Just two months after he warned that his life was in danger, Kasipul Member of Parliament Charles Ong'ondo Were was shot dead on Wednesday evening in Nairobi.

Were was gunned down in traffic at around 7.30 p.m. near the busy City Mortuary roundabout by two assailants riding a motorbike.

The Orange Democratic Party (ODM) legislator was serving his second term, having been first elected to the National Assembly in 2017 and re-elected in 2022.

In February, Were claimed his life was in danger following an increase in violent incidents in his constituency, which he said were being orchestrated by parties outside Kasipul.

Addressing the press at Oyugis Police Station, the MP narrated how he had attended a funeral in God Nyango, and as he was leaving, the road was blocked.

He said he managed to find his way out in the company of his security detail.

The MP said he attended another funeral the following day in Nyatindo.

“Immediately I arrived, before even praying, one of the notorious criminals… stated that I would not talk there. The villagers were angered. What happened in the process is [sic] with investigative agencies,” he told reporters then.

In another undated video circulating on social media, Were is seen saying people were plotting an attack against him. 

“Those brewing trouble in Kasipul are not from here. Maybe they are from Migori or Kisumu. At a meeting yesterday, there was a former MCA here and someone called Ongaki. [The former MCA] said they are waiting for a public gathering where I'll be in attendance so that they bring plainclothes police officers not from Kasipul together with youth from Kisumu to create chaos so that I am shot dead,” he says.

The circumstances surrounding Were’s killing remain unclear. One of the gunmen reportedly alighted from the motorbike at a red light and opened fire at close range.

He appeared to have specifically targeted the MP, who was seated at the front passenger seat of his Toyota saloon car, as his driver and bodyguard at the back seat were unharmed.

The shooter then fled the scene with the rider.

Were was rushed to the nearby Nairobi Hospital but pronounced dead on arrival.

Police have condemned the killing as a “heinous and senseless crime,” saying, “the nature of this crime appears to be both targeted and premeditated.”

The National Police Service (NPS), in a statement some minutes past midnight, said crime scene investigators are piecing together the circumstances surrounding the attack and appealed for witness accounts.

President William Ruto ordered police to conduct a thorough investigation into the attack, writing on X on Thursday morning that “Those responsible must be held to account.”

National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula described Were as a “fearless advocate for his constituents, and a man deeply committed to the democratic ideals and service to the people he represented.”

“The leadership of Parliament is actively engaged and will continue to monitor the progress of investigations while remaining in close contact with the bereaved family,” Wetang’ula said.

ODM party leader Raila Odinga mourned Were as a “gallant son of the soil,” describing his killing as an assassination.

The slain MP’s body was taken to the Lee Funeral Home in Nairobi.