Key suspect in Kasipul MP Charles Were’s murder was a hired assassin, court told
A Nairobi court has been told that the key suspect in the murder of Kasipul Member of Parliament Charles Ong’ondo Were was the hired assassin, who allegedly fatally shot the MP.
Sergeant Reuben Mwaniki told the JKIA Court on Monday that he needed 30 days to continue holding Isaac Kuria alias Kush, who is believed to have been contracted to execute Were and fled.
“Preliminary evidence has since established that the respondent was hired by some of the suspects already in custody and others still at large to eliminate the deceased person. Immediately after executing the mission of fatally shooting the deceased, the respondent fled from Nairobi, his normal place of abode, and went into a hideout in Isebania within Migori County, and was in the process of crossing to Tanzania when he was arrested. Therefore, the respondent is a flight risk,” Mwaniki told the court.
He added that the crime was planned way before its execution, with meetings within and outside Nairobi. Therefore, more investigations will be conducted in Nairobi, Homa Bay and other counties, a process that Mwaniki said will require more time.
He said CCTV footage showed the suspect before being picked up by a motorcycle with a view of trailing and eliminating Were.
The vehicle and its occupants, and the motorcycle with its rider and pillion passenger, were captured by CCTV cameras installed within the city, and, according to Mwaniki, there is a need to conduct a further review with a view to identifying the assailants and the planners.
Mwaniki said the trajectory of investigations that started with the arrest of ten respondents and persons of concern already in custody has eventually necessitated the arrest of Kuria, being the person who was contracted to execute Were.
According to the police, through mobile phone triangulation, interview of witnesses and interrogation of suspects and his accomplices, it has been revealed that Kuria was in constant communication with the planners immediately before, during and after the commission of the crime, and was near the various scenes of crime where Were’s car passed through, hence the need to conduct more investigations.
He stated in his affidavit that a brief interrogation of the suspect revealed that Kuria has crucial information that could unravel Were’s murder and lead to further arrests.
“The respondent has been linked to the killer firearm that was recovered from his accomplices. Several witnesses, including some in Kasipul Constituency within Homa Bay County, are yet to record their statements. Equally, several scenes closely linked to the main scene of crime are yet to be visited for possible evidence retrieval,” court documents read.
The officer said there is a need to visit and conduct further and insightful interviews at the home and place of work, including the MP’s office, to better understand his last moments, days and hours before his death.
The court was also told there is a need to wait for a cybercrime report generated from the mobile phones recovered from Kuria’s accomplices who are in custody, and thereafter use the report to interrogate the suspect.
Principal Magistrate Irene Gichobi agreed with the prosecution and granted police 30 days to detain Kuria pending investigations.
Kuria was captured in Isebania, a border town near Tanzania, just as he was reportedly trying to flee the country.
Investigators believe the killing may have been orchestrated by an organized criminal network with access to significant financial resources. Authorities are also pursuing several other suspects, including a boda boda rider alleged to have facilitated the assassins’ escape and individuals believed to have communicated with the core suspects.
The investigation, described as highly complex, is expected to intensify in the coming weeks, with planned follow-up operations in Homa Bay County and beyond.
