At around 2:40pm on April 30, a call was made to the cellphone of one of the aides of MP Charles Ong’ondo Were.
The aide, who was in the Parliament Buildings at the time, engaged in a conversation that lasted one minute and ten seconds.
Two days before this call—now the subject of a DCI investigation following the MP’s murder—the same number had reached out to the same aide.
Detectives from the Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau, who have been following up on the murder of Mr Were, have zeroed in on this now-mysterious call as they pursue evidence in the high-profile killing.
Investigators from the DCI Homicide Unit and the Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau have, since April 30, arrested at least nine individuals believed to be involved in the crime.
Among the suspects in police custody are the MP’s bodyguard and driver, Allan Ogola Omondi and Walter Owino Awino, as well as the MP’s neighbour Ebel Ochieng, alias Dave Calo.
Following the arrests, DCI investigators have laid bare the allegations that each suspect is facing, either individually or as part of a group.
Charles Ong'ondo Were, MP for Kasipul, was killed at a red light. His killers escaped on a motorcycle.
Photo credit: File | Nation
In his affidavit in court, DCI Inspector Oliver Nabonwe outlined the list of allegations against the suspects, which range from planning and financing to the actual shooting of the MP.
The MP’s driver and bodyguard are accused of being in communication with some of the suspected planners and executors of the murder, according to the investigators.
Other suspects who have been produced before court—where police sought more time to detain them—include Edwin Oduor Odhiambo and Dennis Sewe Manyasi.
Also arrested was businessman Philip Nahashon Aroko, whom police say is a person of interest in the ongoing investigations, bringing the number of suspects in the case—which has taken a political twist—to ten.
Edwin Oduor Odhiambo and Dennis Sewe Manyasi
They allegedly trailed the MP from Parliament Buildings on the evening of April 30 ahead of the shooting.
At Odhiambo’s house in Mihang’o, Nairobi, investigators said they recovered two pistols with two magazines and nine bullets, five SIM cards, and four mobile phones.
The DCI said it wants to carry out a comparative forensic analysis of the bullet heads retrieved from the MP’s body following the autopsy and the firearms recovered from Odhiambo.
5 suspects linked to the murder of Kasipul MP Charles Were appear in court
During their arrests, two pistols and nine live rounds of ammunition, a bag, and footwear matching the description of those worn by one of the suspects at the scene of the incident were recovered, court documents show.
The duo, who the court papers say are believed to have been the assailants, was dropped by a motor vehicle near Parliament before being picked up by a motorcycle, with the intention of trailing and eliminating the Kasipul MP.
The vehicle and its occupants, and the motorcycle with its rider and pillion passenger, were captured by CCTV cameras installed within the city.
Ebel Ochieng alias Dave Calo
A neighbour of the late MP at his rural home in Homa Bay, the suspect is being investigated for allegedly threatening the lawmaker before the fatal incident.
Investigators told the court that the neighbour had been adversely mentioned by some suspects already in custody as the person behind the planning and execution of the murder.
Politician-cum-businessman Philip Aroko. He is one of the suspects linked to Kasipul MP Ong'ondo Were's murder
Photo credit: Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation Media Group
The businessman-cum-politician is said to have been eyeing the Kasipul Constituency parliamentary seat.
The prosecuting counsel, while pressing for Aroko to be detained, told the court that investigators have gathered leads identifying him as a central suspect in the killing.
This, according to court documents, was “not only due to threats he allegedly made to the deceased MP but also for what investigators believe was his role as a key financier of the operation that led to the assassination.”
“Evidence shows he was involved in organised meetings held in Homa Bay, Nairobi, and Nakuru that formed part of the planning stages preceding the MP’s assassination,” the court heard.
“The respondent has been directly linked through communication records and financial trails to multiple persons of interest,” the prosecuting counsel told the court.
“Evidence points to organised meetings held in Homa Bay, Nairobi, and Nakuru—all of which formed part of the planning stages that preceded the MP’s death.”
The court also heard that investigators are currently analysing financial transactions believed to have originated from Aroko, suspected to have been aimed at facilitating the planning and execution of the crime.
Suspects (handcuffed) linked to the murder of Kasipul MP Ong'ondo Were's at JKIA Law Court on May 9, 2025.
Photo credit: Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation Media Group
William Imoli Shighali, Juma Ali Haikai, Douglas Muchiri Wambugu, and David Mihigo Kagame
The DCI claims they, together with others, were involved in the planning and execution of the murder. William Imoli is said to have led police to the second suspect (Juma Ali Haikai), where a vehicle used by the suspects to travel to Parliament buildings on the day of the murder was recovered.
Imoli is also said to have led police to a house in Umoja II, where a search was conducted and $4,800 (around Sh620,000) in cash was recovered.
The court was told the four were in constant communication immediately before, during, and after the commission of the crime.
Suspects linked to the murder of Kasipul MP Charles Were appear in court on May 8, 2025.
Photo credit: Billy Ogada | Nation Media Group
MP’s aides: Allan Ogola Omondi and Walter Owino Awino
They were the deceased’s bodyguard and driver, respectively, before the incident.
Preliminary investigations, according to the court documents, have alleged that they were in “communication with some of the planners and executors of this crime before and after” the incident.
