National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula on Tuesday, May 6, issued a warning to Members of Parliament, following the fatal shooting of Kasipul lawmaker Charles Were.
Wetangula led a group of MPs to the Lee Funeral Home to view the body of their deceased colleague at, after which the leaders went to Were's home in Karen to console with the family.
While hailing the late Were as a good man, the National Assembly Speaker slammed social media claims, which he alleges were meant to paint the late MP in a bad light.
On the shooting incident, the Speaker urged MPs to heighten their security, insisting that what happened to Were could happen to anyone.
“I encourage members; what has happened to Ongondo Were can happen to anyone. So I urge you to tighten your security; don't fear to live and don't live in fear, but be careful. As Members of Parliament, very few people like you," Wetangula stated.
He added, "For strange reasons, people who want to come into Parliament don’t like people in Parliament."
The late Charles Were lost his life on the evening of Wednesday, April 30, when a gunman opened fire his way as he was sitting in traffic along Ngong Road. The MP died instantly, with an autopsy report revealing some of the bullets had punctured his vital organs.
Investigations into his killing have since led to the arrest and detention of four suspects, with the DCI revealing an active member of the police force was involved in the murder.
Following their arraignment, the court ordered the four suspects to be detained in different police stations in Nairobi, pending the conclusion of investigations.
With Were's burial set for Friday, May 9, Wetangula also cautioned Members of Parliament against resorting to politics during the high-profile send-off in order to accord the MP a decent send-off.
"As parliament, we say pole sana, and on Friday, we will be at home so that we can be able to give our brother a decent send-off. I beg you, don't make it a political rally. Let it be a funeral, and let us mourn our friend with the dignity he deserves. We will be coming as a family of parliament and I urge all Members of Parliament to join us," Wetangula said.
Ahead of the burial, Wetangula told the late MP's kin that parliament would intervene in the financial logistics for the funeral, including burial preparations and transport.
Were's body is set to be airlifted to Homa Bay County on Thursday, after which the burial will take place in Kachien Village in his native Kasipul Constituency a day later.
