A Kenyan member of parliament, Charles Were, has been confirmed dead after being shot by unknown gunmen on a motorcycle in a suspected assassination.
As gathered, the attackers had been trailing the MP’s vehicle before one of them got off the motorbike and shot him at close range in Nariaobi, the country’s capital.
According to reports, the attack happened along Ngong Road near a busy roundabout, often manned by traffic police officers and well secured with security cameras.
Were, who was said to have sustained a fatal wound, was rushed to the Nairobi hospital by his unharmed driver and bodyguard, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
“The nature of this crime appears to be both targeted and predetermined,” police spokesperson Muchiri Nyaga said while confirming the lawmaker’s demise on Thursday.
Nyaga added that the enforcement agency’s senior officers and detectives had visited the scene, and investigations are underway to capture the suspects.
Meanwhile, President William Ruto has ordered security agencies to conduct a thorough investigation into the attack, adding that “Those responsible must be held to account.”
Fellow legislators who visited the scene expressed shock and outrage at the killing and called for swift investigations and justice.
Commiserating with the family of the deceased, the parliament Speaker, Moses Wetang’ula, described the MP as a “fearless and distinguished” legislator, calling his shooting “devastating”.
In his statement, a member of the Orange Democratic Movement, Raila Odinga, condemned the killing, saying the legislator was “mercilessly and in cold blood, gunned down by an assassin”.
“We have lost a gallant son of the soil!” Odinga added.
