Nairobi, Kenya – May 8, 2025 – The brutal assassination of Kasipul Member of Parliament Charles Ong’ondo Were on April 30, 2025, has sent shockwaves across Kenya, with police intensifying investigations into what authorities describe as a “targeted and premeditated” killing. The 45-year-old opposition legislator, a member of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), was gunned down near the City Mortuary roundabout on Ngong Road in Nairobi, sparking outrage and raising concerns about political violence in the country. According to police reports, Were was shot at close range by a gunman riding as a pillion passenger on a motorcycle. The attacker fired five shots at the MP’s vehicle, a white Toyota Crown, while it was stopped at a traffic light around 7:30 p.m. The assailant then fled the scene on the motorcycle. Were’s driver and bodyguard, who were unharmed, rushed him to Nairobi Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. The National Police Service (NPS) confirmed that the attackers had trailed Were’s vehicle from Parliament, indicating meticulous planning. Were, serving his second term as MP for Kasipul in Homa Bay County, had publicly expressed fears for his life just two months prior, citing threats and increasing violence in his constituency.