DCI arrests getaway rider in MP Charles Were’s murder case. The suspect, found with the motorcycle used in the hit, confessed to receiving Ksh.50,000 for his role in the targeted killing.
Nairobi, May 14, 2025
Detectives have arrested a key suspect in the assassination of Kasipul MP Charles Ong’ondo Were, a development that could mark a major breakthrough in a case that has gripped the nation.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on Wednesday confirmed the arrest of Amos Barasa Kasili, the man believed to have been the getaway motorbike rider for the gunman who shot and killed MP Were on April 30 in broad daylight near the City Mortuary roundabout on Ngong Road.
According to a statement from the DCI, Kasili was apprehended in Nairobi’s Kibera area following forensic evidence that placed him at the scene of the crime. Investigators revealed that Kasili rode the motorcycle — a Bajaj Boxer bearing registration number KMFZ 413W — used in trailing the MP’s vehicle and in fleeing the scene after the fatal shooting.
“The rider, Amos Barasa Kasili, was positively identified as the operator of the getaway motorcycle. He has since confessed to being part of the murder plot and admitted to receiving a payment of Ksh.50,000 for his role,” the DCI reported.
Police say the killing of MP Were was “targeted and premeditated.” On that fateful evening, as traffic halted at a red light near the roundabout, the gunman dismounted the motorcycle, approached the MP’s car, and opened fire at close range before escaping with Kasili on the waiting bike.
CCTV footage obtained from various points in Nairobi’s central business district, including near Parliament, captured the motorcycle trailing the MP’s vehicle prior to the attack. The same bike was later found in Kasili’s possession at the time of arrest, further tying him to the murder.
Authorities described Kasili as a “habitual criminal masquerading as a boda boda operator,” suggesting he has been involved in other criminal activities in the past. His arrest adds to a growing list of suspects linked to the assassination, including Lake Basin Development Authority (LBDA) Director Ebel Ochieng and Edwin Oduor, who are already in custody and believed to have played major roles in the planning and logistics of the murder.
The DCI emphasized that the investigation is ongoing and pointed to the possibility of a larger criminal network behind the assassination. “We believe the killing of MP Were was orchestrated by a syndicate with substantial financial backing,” a senior DCI officer said under anonymity.
MP Were, a vocal legislator and champion for youth empowerment and anti-corruption reforms, was gunned down in what appears to have been a politically charged and well-financed operation. His murder has sparked outrage, grief, and growing demands for justice from his constituents in Kasipul and across the country.
This latest arrest deepens the scope of the investigation, which is already being viewed as one of Kenya’s most sensitive political crime cases in recent years. The police are expected to make additional arrests as they continue to dismantle the network involved in the killing.
Meanwhile, Kasili is expected to be arraigned in court later this week as authorities seek to hold him in custody during ongoing investigations.
For the family of Charles Were and the nation watching, the arrest brings a step closer to uncovering the truth behind the assassination of a man many hailed as a rising political star.
