Slain Kasipul Member of Parliament Charles Ong’ondo Were was laid to rest on Friday at his rural home in Kachieng village, Homa Bay County, in an emotional ceremony attended by family, constituents, and national leaders.

The late legislator, a staunch member of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) and the Azimio la Umoja coalition, was buried in a casket draped in orange--the signature colour of his political party--in accordance with his wishes.

A 2024 video played during the burial service as a replay of his wishes, showed Were requesting to be buried “wrapped in the ODM flag and among his people.”

Were was gunned down on April 30, 2025, near City Mortuary in Nairobi while stuck in traffic.

Armed assailants riding a motorcycle approached his vehicle, smashed a window, and shot him multiple times before fleeing the scene.

Investigations into the assassination have led to the arrest of at least 10 suspects, including Were’s own driver and bodyguard. Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) revealed that a Sarsilmaz pistol used in the killing had been linked to three(3) other robbery incidents. The firearm was recovered from a suspect’s residence during a raid.

The DCI also uncovered a suspected assassination plot involving a senior government official. A board member of the Lake Basin Development Authority was arrested in Nakuru, and investigators are analysing communications between this individual and a senior figure in the Office of the President. One of the suspects is said to have received a Sh850,000 down payment for the murder.

Five(5) of the suspects were arraigned at the JKIA Law Courts, where prosecutors requested to detain them for 30 days pending further investigations.

Defense lawyers challenged the court’s jurisdiction, arguing that the matter should be heard at Milimani or Kibera Law Courts. A ruling is expected soon.

During the funeral, Azimio leader Raila Odinga and other dignitaries called for a thorough and transparent investigation, demanding justice for the slain MP and his grieving family.

Security was tight throughout the ceremony, with Homa Bay County Commissioner Moses Lilan warning against any political provocation or violence. The late MP is survived by his two wives and six children.

You can follow the proceeding here, Courtesy of Azimio TV.

On Thursday, Police told the court they wanted five(5) suspects arrested in connection to the murder of MP Were, including his security guard, driver and neighbour at the rural home, remanded in custody for 30 days to finalise investigations.

The investigations team described the incident as “a well-orchestrated crime” planned by multiple people through several meetings in Nairobi and Homa Bay way before the day of the fatal shooting.

At the same time, documents filed in court on Thursday reveal that police are banking on CCTV footages at the Integrated Command, Control and Communication Center (IC3) and other privately installed cameras along the path leading to the murder scene to unmask the actual killer.

They are also banking on mobile phone triangulation, phones of persons of interest, interrogation of undisclosed witnesses and quizzing of the nine suspects in custody to determine if there was conspiracy to kill the MP.

“This crime was planned way before its execution with meetings within and outside Nairobi. Therefore, more investigations will be conducted in Nairobi and Homabay and other several counties, a process that will require more time,” says the case investigator, Inspector of Police Oliver Nabonwe.

The five(5) suspects include the MP’s bodyguard and driver, Allan Ogola Omondi, and Walter Owino Awino, respectively, and his neighbour in Kasipul, Homa Bay county, Ebel Ochieng alias Dave Calo.

“Mr Omondi and Mr Awino were the MP’s bodyguard and driver before this unfortunate shooting. Preliminary investigations have revealed that they were in communication with some of the planners and executors of this crime before and after this fatal incident,” says the officer.

Other suspects are Edwin Oduor Odhiambo and Dennis Sewe Manyasi. They were all arrested on Wednesday in Nairobi’s Umoja Two estate, and Nakuru.

Also arrested was businessman Philip Nahashon Aroko, who police said was a person of interest in the ongoing investigations, bringing the number of suspects to 10.

“Preliminary analysis of the evidence at hand has shown that there is a high likelihood that the respondents, jointly with others still at large, were involved in the planning and execution of the murder,” states investigator Nabonwe in a nine-page affidavit.

According to the investigator, the assailants are believed to be Mr Odhiambo and Mr Manyasi who trailed the MP from parliament on the evening of April 30 ahead of the shooting.

At Mr Odhiambo’s house in Mihang’o, Nairobi, investigators recovered two pistols with two magazines and nine bullets, five airtel sim cards, and four mobile phones.

In the investigation, police intend 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 Mr Odhiambo.

It has also emerged that Mr Ochieng alias Dave Calo, who is a close neighbour to the MP at his rural home in Homa Bay, had threatened the MP before the fatal incident.

“Similarly, he has been adversely mentioned by some suspects who are already in custody as the person behind the planning and execution of the crime,” said the investigator.

Apart from the detention order, police also want the court to allow them to confiscate mobile phones and sim cards of the suspects for forensic analysis to find the MP’s killer and the motive.

“All the mobile phones and sim cards recovered from the suspects need to be subjected to forensic exploitation and analysis to obtain call data records to assist in the investigation,” said Mr Nabonwe.

“Through mobile phone triangulation and interrogation of witnesses, people of interest and the suspects’ accomplices who are already in lawful custody, it has been revealed that all the five suspects were in constant communication immediately before, during and after the commission of the crime. They were near the scenes of crime where Were’s car passed through hence the need to conduct more investigations,” Inspector Nabonwe said in the court papers.

The four(4) other suspects--William Imoli Shighali, Juma Ali Haikal, Douglas Muchiri Wambugu, and David Mihigo Kagame--were arrested last week and have been remanded for 30 days pending conclusion of the investigations. Mr Haikal is an Administration Police officer, according to the investigators.

MP Were was shot dead on April 30, 2025, in a suspected targeted assassination near the City Mortuary roundabout along Valley Road in Nairobi.

According to Inspector Nabonwe, brief interrogation of the suspects revealed that they have crucial information that could unravel the murder and lead to further arrests.

“The investigation has identified more scenes of crime where it is believed that this murder was planned and orchestrated before the execution. These scenes need to be visited for documentation and retrieval of more evidence that will in turn be used in the interviewing and interrogation of all the respondents so far arrested,” he said.

Some of the witnesses whose statements have been recorded gave physical descriptions that suit some of the suspects.

Mr Nabonwe wants the suspects remanded separately in Lang’ata, Gigiri, Pangani, Kiambu and Embakasi police stations.

Meanwhile, businessman Philip Nahashon Aroko wants to be released on bond saying police have been holding him without justification.

“Mr Aroko denies any knowledge of or involvement in the said offence and maintains that he has at all material times been willing and available to assist the investigative authorities in any lawful manner including the provision of statements , attendance for interviews or any other reasonable inquiry,” his lawyer Danstan Omari argued in the court documents.

Mr Omari maintained that his client is a law abiding citizen with longstanding reputation.