Kasipul Member of Parliament Charles Were has passed away after suspected criminals within Nairobi city gunned him down.
According to witnesses, the lawmaker was shot dead on Wednesday evening near the City Mortuary roundabout by suspected gunmen who were trailing him.
Reports further indicated that the two gunmen were on a motorbike when they shot Were, before fleeing from the scene.
During the incident, which took place around 7 pm, one of the gunmen alighted from the motorbike and shot the legislator at close range.
Efforts to rush him to the Nairobi Hospital proved futile as Were was pronounced dead on arrival at the facility.
While the intention behind the killing is yet to be established, reports suggest that Were could have been the key target as his driver escaped unharmed.
According to ODM, Were was in parliament the better part of the day and left at 6:15 pm after participating in the business of the day.
The ODM party leadership, while mourning him, called for swift investigations and the arrest of the perpetrators.
"While we join his constituents, the people of the great county of Homabay, his family, colleagues and friends in mourning, we call on the police to investigate the shooting incident and bring the culprits to book," read part of the statement by the ODM party.
Were was serving his second term in office since his first election as a legislator in 2017. In 2022 polls, he was reelected to office on the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) ticket.
Meanwhile, his tragic demise comes barely three months after he decried his security.
Following his death, police officers promptly arrived at the scene and have since commenced investigations into the matter.
