Charles Ong’ondo Were

In an intelligence-led operation, detectives have apprehended Amos Barasa Kasili at Kibera Darajani area, linking him to the tragic shooting of the late Kasipul MP, Hon. Charles Ong’ondo Were, which occurred on April 30, 2025.

This arrest follows a thorough investigation that forensically connected Barasa to the main suspects and placed him at the crime scene on that fateful day.

It was revealed that Barasa served as the rider of the motorcycle with registration number KMFZ 413W, a Bajaj Boxer, which the assailants used to trail the MP’s vehicle and later as a getaway bike after the attack. Upon his arrest, Barasa was found in possession of the motorcycle in question.

Investigations uncovered that Barasa is a habitual criminal who masquerades as a Boda Boda operator, often collaborating with armed criminal gangs during their operations. During interrogation, he disclosed his involvement in the crime, revealing that he had been engaged by the main actors and received a payment of Ksh. 50,000 as part of his compensation.

Additionally, the motorcycle recovered from Barasa matches the description of the bike captured by CCTV footage near Parliament, which was seen trailing the late MP’s vehicle.

Profiling the suspect revealed his extensive criminal background, including previous incarceration at Industrial Area Prison, where he encountered some of the individuals involved in this heinous act.

Barasa is currently being processed for arraignment as investigations continue, with authorities committed to ensuring that justice is served.

Detectives have recovered two pistols, including one believed to have been used in the murder of Kasipul Member of Parliament Charles Ong’ondo Were.

The murder pistol will undergo ballistic analysis to determine its ownership and usage.

The weapons were found in a house in the Chokaa area of Kayole on Tuesday night after a daylong search, police said.

Detectives also recovered a bag and shoes worn by a prime suspect on the day of the murder.

Police termed the recoveries a breakthrough in the ongoing investigation.

“This is a breakthrough because the recoveries are key in the case,” said an officer involved in the probe.

Earlier ballistic tests on recovered bullets revealed that the murder weapon had been used in at least three other crimes in Komarock and Kayole in Nairobi, and Ndumberi, Kiambu County.

This conclusion followed an analysis of spent bullets recovered from the crime scene and the MP’s body.

Were, who was serving his second term in Parliament, was shot and killed on April 30 along Valley Road near the City Mortuary.

His driver and bodyguard, who was seated in the back seat, escaped unhurt.

The bodyguard jumped out of the car as the gunman fled on a getaway motorcycle. Witnesses said he gave a brief chase before returning to the car and rushing the bleeding MP to nearby Nairobi Hospital.

Detectives have since been retracing the MP’s movements and reconstructing scenes with the help of the bodyguard and driver.

Four suspects are in custody over the killing.

One of the suspects was found with Sh615,000 in his Nairobi home, believed to have been payment for the mission. Detectives are working to establish the source of the money and the motive.

Police also recovered several police uniforms and multiple mobile phones, which are under forensic examination.  

The suspects William Imoli Shighali alias Omar Shakur, Juma Ali Haikal, Douglas Muchiri Wambugu, and David Mihigo Kagame will remain in custody for 30 calendar days pending investigations.

Shighali, was arrested in the lounge in Roysambu alongside Wambugu and Kagame.

Police say suspects later led detectives to the Pangani home of police officer Juma Ali Hikal, where a vehicle alleged to have been used in the murder was found.

Court documents show the suspects communicated before and after the assassination.

CCTV footage described by investigators as pivotal showed the suspect, believed to be Shighali, trailing MP Were along Wabera Street in Nairobi.

He was allegedly seen carrying a bag believed to have concealed the murder weapon and wearing police boots later found at Hikal’s residence.

A search at Hikal’s home, according to police, uncovered ammunition, teargas canisters, and other paraphernalia currently under analysis.

At Shighali’s residence, officers allegedly found police uniforms, over USD 4,800 in cash, and multiple mobile phones also being examined.

“Thousands of minutes of CCTV footage have been reviewed to reconstruct the final moments of the late MP,” the prosecution told the court.

“Nine live rounds of ammunition and teargas canisters were also found at the second respondent’s home.”

Investigators believe the murder may have been carried out by an organized criminal network with significant financial backing.

Police are pursuing more suspects, including another officer suspected of playing a central role in orchestrating the assassination.

The officer is alleged to have used a newly registered mobile number, now deactivated and registered under a false identity, to coordinate the operation.

A JKIA Chief Magistrate’s Court has granted the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) permission to detain the four suspects for 30 days pending further investigations.

A suspect linked to the macabre murder of Kasipul Member of Parliament was arrested on Sunday morning in Nairobi.

Detectives handling the probe said they also recovered a car that the suspect and his accomplices were using in their mission.

The car was used in escaping from the scene after the shooting near City Mortuary along Valley Road, detectives said.

The same car has been captured on security cameras near Parliament Building, City Hall Way, Wabera Street, Kenyatta Avenue, Jakaya Kikwete Road, Argwings Kodhek Road and Valley Road.

These are the same roads the MP used from Parliament before he was shot and killed at point-blank range.

Director of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, Mohamed Amin, confirmed they have what he termed a breakthrough in the probe with the arrest of the suspect.

“We have one key suspect and we are looking for more,” he said.

He said detectives are pursuing a murder.

The team handling the case was talking to the suspect to surrender the killer weapon, state the motive, his accomplices and the motorcycle they used at some point.

The suspect has also been placed at all the routes that the MP used before he was shot on April 30, 2025.

The murder has caused tension in ODM, with some leaders there demanding the arrest of the killers.

The gunman who pulled the trigger killing, Were at a traffic jam in Nairobi wore a hood to hide his identity. 

The killer was captured near where Were stopped to make financial transactions on his way from the Parliament Building. 

The man had a rider riding him from Parliament Building to City Hall Way, Wabera Street, Kenyatta Avenue, Jakaya Kikwete Road and later to Valley Road where the shooting happened on Wednesday, April 30 at about 7.30 pm. 

They also had a car that they used in escaping, detectives have revealed.

Detectives who visited the last places where the MP spent his final day are now relying on CCTV footage and witness accounts from his driver and bodyguard in pursuit of more accomplices. 

On Thursday, detectives extended their probe to the National Assembly, where Were had spent most of his day attending to parliamentary duties. 

According to reports, the MP left Parliament about 6.15 p.m., accompanied by his driver and bodyguard. 

The vehicle was seen heading towards City Hall Way before taking a turn onto Wabera Street. 

It was along this street that the MP’s car stopped. 

His bodyguard briefly stepped out, walking into an M-Pesa shop where he reportedly deposited Sh20,000 into the MP’s phone.

CCTV footage in the area captured a man wearing a hood and carrying a bag who was monitoring the car. 

The cameras also captured the MP and his team leaving the area at 7:19 p.m. and joining Kenyatta Avenue. 

The driver changed route and joined Jakaya Kikwete Road to evade traffic before joining Argwings Kodhek Road. 

Unaware they were being followed, they joined Valley Road, where there was traffic.

The same man who was monitoring the car along Wabera Street was reportedly seen on top of a sports bike following the vehicle closely. 

When the vehicle stopped after the traffic lights at 7:40 p.m., he (suspect) disembarked, went around the vehicle and went straight to his target.

He fired four shots at close range, shattering the window and hitting the MP on the chest and hand. 

The killer ran towards the sports bike and the rider took off, heading towards Nairobi CBD.

The bodyguard, who was sitting behind the MP, reportedly told investigators that the shooting caught him unawares and he had to take cover before disembarking from the car to pursue the attackers, who were long gone. 

He ran after the killers in vain, witnesses said. 

He then swiftly ran to help the MP, who was bleeding profusely and pleading for help.

They rushed him to Nairobi Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. 

The driver and the bodyguard escaped unhurt in an attack that took less than a minute on a busy road.

Homicide detectives who visited the scene on Thursday morning to reconstruct the events, recovered three spent cartridges, which will be subjected to ballistic examination.

Later, detectives camped along Wabera Street where the MP was last spotted before his assailants shot him dead. 

The same gunman and his rider are also said to have had lunch at a restaurant along Kimathi Street in Nairobi. 

Police have collected CCTV footage from several shops in the area, which captured the suspect as he monitored the vehicle that was parked next to an M-Pesa shop.

In their pursuit of the killer, the detectives have questioned several people, including the MP’s driver, bodyguard, and the M-Pesa attendant.

The probe has also been extended to Kasipul in Homabay as police investigate whether his murder is politically motivated.

Police say the killing was targeted and premeditated.