Detectives investigating the assassination of Kasipul Member of Parliament Charles Ong’ondo Were arrested another suspect in the fatal shooting that occurred on Nairobi’s Valley Road.
Isaac Kuria, alias “Kush”, was arrested in Isebania at the Kenya-Tanzania border while planning to flee the country, police said.
Kuria is suspected to have part of the gang that carried out the hit on the late MP before staging a calculated escape.
This brings to 11, the number of suspects in custody over the murder of the MP which happened on April 30, 2025.
Kuria, who is reportedly linked to criminal networks operating within Nairobi, is believed to have traveled to the Central Business District on the day of the murder with the assassination mission.
Mobile phone triangulation has placed him at various primary crime scenes. y
Investigators say he trailed Were’s movements before fatally shooting him in traffic. He had the motorcycle that was involved in the attack.
After the attack, Kuria is said to have fled to Mihango in Kayole where he disposed of the murder weapon, which has since been recovered by police and ballistic tests confirmed it was used.
He then embarked on a journey to Narok by motorbike to evade police detection.
He left his motorcycle in Narok and hoped onto a public service vehicle to Isebania.
He has been in communication with a relative in Tanzania, coordinating an escape plan.
Detectives, who were monitoring communications between Kuria and other suspects already in custody, tracked and arrested him at a local lodging in Isebania. Another man found with him was also detained, police said.
Both were transferred to Nairobi and are expected to appear at the JKIA Law Courts.
Among those already detained are Were’s bodyguard Allan Omondi, his driver Walter Owino, and William Imoli, who is believed to have played a central role in planning and financing the assassination on behalf of others who have not been arrested.
Others include businessman and politician Phillip Aroko and Lake Basin Development Authority Director Ebel Ochieng—both alleged financiers—along with Edwin Oduor and Dennis Manyasi.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has indicated that efforts to apprehend other individuals believed to have been involved in the planning and execution of the murder are ongoing. Detectives are also analyzing financial transactions connected to the suspects, which may shed light on the motive behind the assassination.
Were was gunned down in traffic in what police believe was a well-orchestrated political hit.
The case continues to develop as authorities intensify their crackdown on the wider network behind the killing.
Police say cash recovered from some of the suspects was a proceed of the crime.
Some of the suspects have confessed they were paid in US dollars to eliminate the MP.
Inspector General of police Douglas Kanja said the cash recovered is part of the exhibit they have as evidence to the case.
“Other exhibits collected at the initial stages of the investigation include surveillance footage capturing critical moments before and after the incident, Identification of a vehicle used to transport the suspects to the crime scene and financial proceeds linked to the suspects.”
“These exhibits are undergoing forensic analysis to further strengthen the case and clarify the circumstances surrounding Were’s murder,” he said.
One of the suspects arrested had Sh615,000 in his house in Nairobi believed to have been paid for the mission. Detectives are trying to establish the source of the money which was in US dollars and the motive.
One of the suspects told detectives he had been paid Sh80,000 by an accomplice in custody to drop off unidentified individuals at a petrol station near the crime scene, just moments before the fatal shooting.
He claims that is why his vehicle appeared in surveillance footage from the area—a detail now central to the investigation.
Detectives are now working to verify these accounts and match them with forensic findings.
Following their arrest, investigators proceeded to the bodyguard’s residence in Uthiru, where a search was carried out in pursuit of additional evidence.
As the net tightened, detectives also confiscated mobile phones belonging to both the bodyguard and the driver for forensic analysis, hoping to trace financial transactions that could link them directly to the suspected killers.
One of the suspects had earlier alleged he received a down payment of Sh850,000, a claim partially substantiated after police recovered part of the money from his home in US dollars.
Investigators are now expanding their probe with a financial analysis targeting all potential suspects believed to be part of the criminal network responsible for the cold-blooded execution of Were.
The police said the murder was planned way before its execution with meetings within and outside Nairobi.
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