One of the five newly arrested suspects in the murder probe of Kasipul MP Ong’ondo Were is a government official and police say he planned and executed the crime.
Among the five presented in court was a board member of the Lake Basin Development Authority (LBDA) Ebel Ochieng alias Dave Calo, the bodyguard to Were identified as Allan Ogolla Omondi and his driver Walter Owino Awino.
The police said the murder was planned way before its execution with meetings within and outside Nairobi.
The detectives asked the court in a miscellaneous application to hold the suspects for 30 days for further investigations.
Calo was arrested in Nakuru and brought to Nairobi after he was mentioned in the saga.
Police said through mobile phone triangulation and interrogation of witnesses. persons of interest and the respondents’ accomplices, it has been revealed that the five were in constant communication immediately before, during and after the commission of the crime and were near the various scenes of crime where the deceased’s car passed through.
“Therefore, more investigations will be conducted in Nairobi, Homabay and other several counties, a process that will require more time.”
The police said in court documents Calo is a close neighbour to the deceased at his rural home in Homa Bay and had threatened the deceased before this fatal incident.
“Similarly, the first respondent has adversely been mentioned by some suspects who are already in the custody as the person behind the planning and execution of this crime.”
They added the account of events has been corroborated by mobile phone numbers believed to have been fraudulently registered by the Calo necessitating the time sought to enable investigators interrogate further such line of inquiry.
The trajectory of investigations that started with the arrest of the four respondents and persons of concern already in lawful custody has eventually necessitated the arrests of the bodyguard and driver assigned to the deceased.
Police say cash recovered from some of the suspects in the murder 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 for 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 and the motive.
The detectives are pursuing more suspects in connection with the murder.
The suspects have been mentioned adversely in the probe and are wanted for questioning, Kanja said.
“We will continue to pursue all leads, analyse forensic evidence, and ensure that all perpetrators are brought to justice,” he said.
Kanja alongside the Director of Criminal Investigations Mohamed Amin and Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo addressed a press conference Thursday and declared so far ten suspects are in custody.
One of the guns recovered from the suspects has since been confirmed to have been involved in the shooting.
Kanja stated that the gun was recovered from two suspects who were discovered with two pistols – a Retay Falcon pistol and a Sarsilmaz pistol – a bag, and footwear that matched the description of items worn by one of the suspects on the crime scene.
“The ballistics report we received unequivocally links the Sarsilmaz pistol recovered from the residence of one of the suspects to the fatal shots that took his life,” he stated.
The ballistic report also linked the weapon to three separate robbery incidents across Nairobi and Kiambu counties.
He added an autopsy performed on May 2 at the Lee Funeral Home by Chief Government Pathologist Dr. Johansen Oduor revealed that MP Were had five gunshot wounds, all of which entered his body from the left side.
Two bullets were recovered during the autopsy, and a third was found in the deceased’s vehicle, which were submitted for ballistic analysis.
Money believed to have been paid to the suspects to commit the crime was also recovered, said Kanja.
He said detectives reconstructed Were’s movements from Parliament to the
site of the shooting, generating key leads that have helped identify potential suspects. “The driver and the bodyguard were
taken into custody to assist in the ongoing probe.”
Kanja explained how the MP was trailed and killed revealing at approximately 7:40 PM on April 30, 2025, he was fatally shot while driving in a white Toyota Crown along
Ngong Road, near the City Mortuary roundabout in Nairobi.
The vehicle had stopped at a red traffic light when a motorcycle carrying a rider and a pillion passenger pulled alongside.
The pillion passenger approached the passenger’s side of the vehicle,
fired multiple shots, and fled the scene on the motorcycle.
The driver and the bodyguard, both unharmed, rushed Were to Nairobi Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
“Through meticulous forensic work, four suspects directly linked to the crime scene were arrested. Some of them are believed to
be members of the “Mjahidini,” an organised criminal gang known for armed robberies in Nairobi’s Eastlands area.”
The operation began in Mihang’o, Kayole, where police arrested Dennis Sewe Munyasi.
Munyasi led investigators to another key suspect—Edwin Oduor Odhiambo, known by the alias Abdi Rashid.
The two are among the five who were presented in court on Thursday.
Further grilling of Edwin revealed more as he led detectives to his rented house nearby in Chokaa where a painstaking search began.
And there, hidden beneath a cabinet, officers uncovered two pistols and nine rounds of ammunition.
Investigators also recovered a pair of shoes and a small bag believed to have been used by the suspects to conceal and carry the firearm used in the deadly shooting. The items were reportedly seen in CCTV footage captured on the fateful day.
It is Edwin and Dennis who reportedly revealed to police that the murder was part of a well-coordinated plan—one they say involved none other than Were’s bodyguard and driver.
These explosive claims echo earlier allegations made by the first suspect, William Imoli, who was arrested on Sunday.
Imoli told detectives he had been paid Sh80,000 by the MP’s driver to drop off unidentified individuals at a petrol station near the crime scene, just moments before the fatal shooting.
He claims that’s 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.
In light of these developments, the arrest of the MP’s bodyguard and driver became inevitable, as the probe enters a critical phase.
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, William Imoli, 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.
As part of this widening investigation, authorities are turning their focus towards a senior government official, who is now a key person of interest.
Five of the suspects arrested on Wednesday are set to be presented in court on Thursday, while police continue to cast their net wider with Homa Bay County now in their sights for further possible arrests.
On May 5, 2025, the first four suspects were presented before the JKIA Court, where investigators secured a 30-day custodial order to facilitate further inquiries.
The case is scheduled for mention on June 5, 2025.
The motive is believed to be political.
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