The police have been allowed to detain for one month a suspected hitman in the execution of Kasipul MP Charles Ong’ondo Were, as they piece together evidence into the killing.
Evidence tabled in court stated that Mr Isaac Kuria Chege alias Kush was arrested at Isebania, at the border of Kenya and Tanzania, while attempting to flee the country.
The MP was shot on April 30 near City Mortuary roundabout after being trailed by his assailants from the city centre.
According to an investigator, Mr Reuben Mwaniki, images obtained from CCTV cameras showed that Mr Kuria resembles the assailant who had earlier, on the fateful day, been dropped near Parliament Buildings by a motorcycle.
5 suspects linked to the murder of Kasipul MP Charles Were appear in court
Mr Mwaniki said the suspects were allegedly captured on CCTV cameras in the central business district and on various routes heading to the scene of crime.
“That some of these images resemble the respondent (Mr Kuria) herein and therefore, there is need to conduct further forensic investigations and identification before a formal decision to charge is made,” the officer said.
Kuria’s arrest brings to 11 the number suspects so far arrested by the police over the killing of the Kasipul MP, in Homa Bay County.
Those in custody include his security guard, a driver and neighbour at the MP’s rural home, and businessman-cum-politician Philip Nahashon Aroko, who police described as a person of interest in the ongoing investigations.
The suspects in custody are the MP’s bodyguard and driver, Allan Ogola Omondi and Walter Owino Awino, respectively, and his neighbor in Kasipul, Ebel Ochieng alias Dave Calo.
The police claimed that Omondi and Awino were in communication with some of the planners and executors of the crime.
Other suspects are Edwin Oduor Odhiambo and Dennis Sewe Manyasi, who were arrested in Nairobi’s Umoja Two estate and Nakuru.
From left: Ebel Ochieng, Edwin Oduor Odhiambo, Dennis Sewe Manyasi and Allan Ogola Omondi, all suspects linked to Kasipul MP Ong'ondo Were's murder, at JKIA Law Court on May 9, 2025.
Photo credit: Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation Media Group
At Mr Odhiambo’s house, the police allegedly recovered two pistols with two magazines and nine bullets, five Airtel sim cards, and four mobile phones.
Mr Mwaniki said the police needed to further analyse in detail the CCTV footage and other privately installed cameras to understand the circumstances surrounding the commission of the offence.
He said Kuria was allegedly dropped by a motorcycle near Parliament before he was picked and started trailing the MP’s vehicle from Parliament to Wabera Street and up to City Mortuary Roundabout, where the MP was shot.
The officer said the assailant then escaped from the scene of crime in an awaiting motorcycle and went into hiding, meaning that the crime was targeted and premeditated.
A forensic expert secures the vehicle in which slain Kasipul MP Charles Were was shot dead at close range by two gunmen who were trailing him with a motorbike, outside the Nairobi hospital in Nairobi, on April 30, 2025.
Photo credit: Thomas Mukoya | Reuters
Mr Mwaniki added that Kuria is alleged to have been the person who was contracted to execute the MP.
“The preliminary investigations has established that the respondent was hired by some of the suspects already in custody and others still at large to eliminate the deceased person,” he said in an affidavit filed in court.
Immediately after the shooting, Kuria allegedly fled to Isebania in Migori County with intention of crossing over to Tanzania.
The police added that he was in constant communication with the planners’ before, during and after the commission of the crime and was near the various scenes of crime where the MP’s car passed through.
The affidavit said Kuria was allegedly arrested in the company of his brother at a hotel while waiting to be taken to Tanzania by his step-sister. He was then transferred to Kasarani Police Station.
Parliamentary staff and forensic experts outside the Nairobi Hospital on April 30, 2025 as they secure the vehicle in which Kasipul MP Charles Ong'ondo Were was shot dead at close range by two gunmen on motorbike.
Mr Mwaniki added that the suspect gave out crucial information and allegedly named several individuals who are persons of interest in the matter.
“The arrest of the respondent has opened another avenue for investigations that could lead to the arrest of more suspects and recovery of more exhibits that were used in the planning and execution of the crime,” he said.
The officer added that Kuria safety would be in jeopardy, if released, as his accomplices and aggrieved members of the public, might harm him.
Meanwhile, Mr Aroko has been allowed by the High Court to withdraw an application challenging the legality of his detention.
Justice Alexander Muteti allowed Aroko's lawyers Danstan Omari and Sam Nyaberi to withdraw the petition.
Mr Aroko presented himself before Gigiri Police Station after being issued with summons by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on May 7, 2025.
