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What autopsy on assassinated MP reveals as four suspects detained
MP Charles Ong’ondo Were was gunned down on April 30 along Ngong Road, Nairobi.
A postmortem on assassinated Kasipul MP Charles Ong’ondo Were has shed light on the incident as the mystery of his killing continues to unravel.
The cold, clinical brutality of his death on April 30 along Ngong Road, as described by government pathologist Johansen Oduor, has sent shockwaves across the country.
The autopsy revealed that he was shot five times with three bullets remaining lodged in his body.
Dr Oduor revealed these details at Lee Funeral Home after a two-hour long postmortem examination in the presence of Were’s family members.
“Two of the bullets struck the MP’s left forearm. One exited but the other remained lodged deep in the same forearm,” he said.
Forensic experts believe Were had either raised his arm in a defensive move or was on a phone call.
Parliamentary staff and forensic experts outside the Nairobi Hospital on April 30, 2025 as they secure the vehicle in which Kasipul MP Charles Ong'ondo Were was shot dead at close range by two gunmen on motorbike.
The report also established that two more bullets entered the left side of his chest: one exited on the right, but the other tore through critical organs and lodged in the spine.
“The trajectory of that bullet cut through the heart, lungs, liver and the aorta. An additional bullet entered through the upper back and was found lodged inside. The late Mheshimiwa could not survive the injuries caused by the gunshots. He died from multiple vital organ injuries caused by gunshots which were a total of five,” Dr Oduor said.
The recovered bullets, the pathologist confirmed, will be handed over to ballistics experts for further forensic analysis. He also ruled out any other forms of physical trauma.
“There were no injuries aside from those caused by the gunshots,” he said.
The revelations align with witness accounts that said the MP’s car was ambushed near the Nairobi Funeral Home roundabout by two men on a motorcycle. One assailant reportedly fired the shots through the car window at point-blank range.
His driver and bodyguard rushed him to Nairobi Hospital where he was declared dead on arrival.
Arrests
Four suspects: William Imoli Shighali, Juma Ali Haikai, Douglas Muchiri Wambugu and David Mihigo Kagame were arraigned at the JKIA Law Courts in connection with the murder.
Meanwhile, four suspects: William Imoli Shighali, Juma Ali Haikai, Douglas Muchiri Wambugu and David Mihigo Kagame were arraigned at the JKIA Law Courts in connection with the murder. The police were granted 30 days to hold the suspects at Ruaraka, Muthaiga, Capitol Hill and Kilimani police stations as they intensify investigations into the chilling murder.
Shighali, Haikai and Kagame were arrested together at Roysambu in Nairobi.
In court, investigators disclosed that they had tracked the movements of the motorcycle that was used to allegedly follow the MP from Parliament Buildings to Wabera Street, and then to the Nairobi Funeral Home roundabout where he was shot and killed.
The officers also said that shortly after his arrest, Shighali led them to his house in Umoja II estate where they found $4,800 (approximately Sh620,000), which they believe were proceeds of the crime, as well as a spent cartridge.
The same suspect, police say, led them to Haikai where a motor vehicle believed to have been used to drop the assailants at Parliament and later used in trailing the MP’s car was found. Police said they also found the motorcycle used by attackers in the shooting murder.
It is the detectives’ theory that Haikai used the motorcycle he was found with after being dropped by the impounded car at Parliament.
Suspect claims to be policeman
The court was told that police recovered nine rounds of live ammunition, eight tear gas canisters and Administration Police uniform at Haikai’s house.
The suspect claimed he is a police officer, a an allegation detectives are seeking to verify.
At the same house, detectives recovered a pair of shoes captured by CCTV cameras as being worn by the man police believed to be the assailant who shot the MP.
However, police informed the court that they are yet to recover the gun used to end Were’s life.
Were’s body will be flown to Homa Bay for burial on May 9, 2025.