KISUMU, Kenya May 1 \u2013 Kasipul Constituency in Homa Bay County has been thrown into mourning\u2014and controversy\u2014following the assassination of its MP, Charles Ong\u2019ondo Were, in a brazen shooting in Nairobi.<\/p>\n
Were, serving his second term under the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party, was gunned down Wednesday evening near City Mortuary by assailants on a motorcycle. According to police, the attack was premeditated and well-executed.<\/p>\n
A statement from police spokesman Muchiri Nyaga on Thursday described the shooting as a \u201cheinous and senseless crime,\u201d adding that no arrests had been made so far. \u201cThe nature of this crime appears to be both targeted and premeditated,\u201d said Nyaga, affirming the National Police Service\u2019s commitment to a thorough investigation.<\/p>\n
Eyewitnesses said the MP was seated in a white Toyota Crown at a traffic light when two men on a motorcycle approached. One of them alighted, walked to the car\u2019s passenger side, opened fire, and fled. Were\u2019s driver and another passenger rushed him to Nairobi Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.<\/p>\n
The MP\u2019s killing has reignited debate in his restive constituency, where he was both feared and followed. While some mourners praised him as a loyal ODM stalwart and ally of Governor Gladys Wanga, others pointed to a troubled legacy marred by allegations of political violence.<\/p>\n
Immediately after news of his death broke, disturbing images surfaced online showing individuals allegedly attacked or killed for opposing his leadership. Some residents blamed him for sponsoring goons to intimidate political rivals\u2014accusations he had consistently denied.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, locals had demanded his arrest following violent incidents that left several youths injured, and in some cases, dead. One incident involved a rival aspirant\u2019s vehicle being smashed during a funeral attended by Were.<\/p>\n
Were had also expressed fears for his own safety, once telling mourners that unnamed politicians were plotting to assassinate him. He had recently been angling for the Homa Bay ODM chairmanship.<\/p>\n
Speaker of the National Assembly Moses Wetang\u2019ula condemned the murder, calling it a national tragedy. \u201cThe loss of Hon. Were is not just a tragedy to his family and the people of Kasipul, but a great loss to the nation,\u201d he said, directing that the investigation findings be tabled before Parliament.<\/p>\n
While the motive remains unclear, theories circulating online suggest links to escalating political tensions in Kasipul, where Were was a polarising figure.<\/p>\n
The police have vowed to leave no stone unturned in bringing the perpetrators to justice.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KISUMU, Kenya May 1 \u2013 Kasipul Constituency in Homa Bay County has been thrown into mourning\u2014and controversy\u2014following the assassination of its MP, Charles Ong\u2019ondo Were, in a brazen shooting in Nairobi. Were, serving his second term under the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party, was gunned down Wednesday evening near City Mortuary by assailants on a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-114442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114442"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114442\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}