Charles Ong’ondo Were had complained his life was in danger before attack, local reports say
The fatal shooting of an opposition MP in Kenya appears to have been a targeted killing, police have said.
Charles Ong’ondo Were was shot dead on Wednesday evening after his vehicle stopped at a traffic light on Ngong Road, in the capital Nairobi, according to police.
Police said bystanders witnessed the passenger of a motorcycle open fire on the MP’s car while it was stopped at the junction.
“The nature of this crime appears to be both targeted and premeditated,” National Police Service spokesperson Muchiri Nyaga said in a statement.
“At this stage, it is too early to provide further details,” Nyaga added.
Were served as a legislator for the constituency of Kasipul, in western Kenya, under the banner of the centre-left Orange Democratic Movement, which arose out of opposition to a 2005 proposal to replace the constitution with a text that critics said placed exorbitant power in the presidency.
Kenya’s Daily Nation newspaper reported that Were had “openly complained his life was in danger”.
Kenyan President William Ruto, allied with the centre-right United Democratic Alliance, expressed his condolences to Were’s family and the people of Kasipul.
“We urge the police to conduct a thorough investigation into this incident,” Ruto said on X.
“Those responsible must be held to account.”
Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who founded the Orange Democratic Movement, said Kenya had lost a “gallant son of the soil”.
Odinga challenged the results of the 2022 election after losing to Ruto, claiming in a petition to the Supreme Court that the poll had been tainted by “premeditated unlawful and criminal subversion”.
In March, Odinga and Ruto signed a memorandum of understanding to work together in a “broad-based government”.
