Getaway rider in murder of MP Charles Were arrested: DCI

Police say they have arrested the motorbike rider who was carrying Kasipul Member of Parliament Charles Were’s killer.

The MP was shot dead on April 30 in the Nairobi evening traffic at the City Mortuary roundabout on Ngong Road by a gunman whose accomplice was riding a motorbike. 

The gunman alighted from the motorbike at a red light and opened fire at close range before fleeing the scene with the rider.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on Wednesday said a man identified as Amos Barasa Kasili was arrested in Nairobi’s Kibera area after a forensic investigation placed him at the crime scene.

“Barasa served as the rider of the motorcycle with registration number KMFZ 413W, a Bajaj Boxer, which the assailants used to trail the MP's vehicle and later as a getaway bike after the attack,” the investigative agency said in a report.

DCI said at the time of arrest, Kasili, “a habitual criminal who masquerades as a boda boda operator,” was found in possession of the motorcycle in question.

The agency said the suspect admitted his involvement in the crime, “revealing that he had been engaged by the main actors and received a payment of Ksh.50,000 as part of his compensation.”

Kasili’s motorbike, according to the DCI, matches the description of the bike captured by CCTV footage near Parliament trailing the slain MP's car.

Police say Were’s killing was “targeted and premeditated” and have been pursuing suspects, among them a police officer and some of Were’s close associates believed to have been key in the murder.

Investigators believe Were’s killing may have been orchestrated by a criminal network with access to significant financial resources.