The DCI has issued a wanted notice for Philip Nahashon Aroko, demanding he surrender immediately to the nearest police station.
“He is a person of interest in the ongoing investigation into the brutal murder of Hon. Charles Ong’ondo Were,” police said.
Aroko, a Kasipul Constituency parliamentary seat contestant, has also been linked to fake gold scams in the past.
This comes after the driver and bodyguard of Kasipul Member of Parliament Charles Ong’ondo Were were arrested Tuesday night in the ongoing probe into his murder.
The two were detained by detectives handling the matter after they gave inconsistent statements on what they knew or did not know about the murder.
His driver and the bodyguard, who was seated in the backseat, escaped unhurt during the attack.
The bodyguard jumped out of the car as the gunman hopped onto a getaway motorcycle.
Witnesses said he chased the motorcycle for a short distance before racing back to the car to join the driver and rush the bleeding MP to the nearby Nairobi Hospital.
Detectives handling the matter have been moving around with the two to reconstruct scenes where the MP was before he was trailed and shot dead.
This came as police on Tuesday raided houses in Kayole’s Chokaa area and recovered a pistol that was used in the murder.
The team also found a second pistol that is now under tests to confirm if it had been used in any crimes.
Ballistic tests show the weapon that killed Were had been used to commit crimes in three incidents in Kayole, Komarock and Ndumberi in Kiambu County.
This followed an analysis of spent bullets that were recovered from the scene of the shooting and the deceased’s body.
The police also recovered shoes and a bag that the killer had on the day the MP was killed.
The man was captured on camera wearing police shoes. He also carried the bag that is believed to have contained the gun used in the murder.
Four suspects are in custody over the murder.
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.
Police in the operation also found several police uniforms and multiple mobile phones, which are currently being examined for evidence.
The suspects William Imoli Shighali alias Omar Shakur, Juma Ali Haikal, Douglas Muchiri Wambugu, and David Mihigo Kagame will remain in custody for 30 calendar days pending investigations.
Shighali, who reportedly has links to the extremist Mujahidin gang, was arrested at Zeitun Lounge in Roysambu alongside Wambugu and Kagame.
The trio subsequently led detectives to the home of police officer Juma Ali Hikal in Pangani area, where a vehicle believed to have been used in the assassination was recovered.
Court documents indicate that the suspects were in communication before and after the assassination. CCTV footage, which investigators described as pivotal, showed Shighali trailing MP Were along Nairobi’s Wabera Street.
He was seen carrying a bag believed to have concealed the murder weapon and wearing police boots later found at Hikal’s residence.
A search of Hikal’s home uncovered ammunition, teargas canisters, and other paraphernalia now under forensic analysis.
At Shighali’s residence, detectives recovered several police uniforms, over USD 4,800 in cash, and multiple mobile phones currently being examined for evidence.
“Thousands of minutes of CCTV footage have been reviewed in an attempt to reconstruct the final moments of the late MP,” said the prosecution during the court session.
“Nine live rounds of ammunition and teargas canisters were also found at the second respondent’s home.”
Investigators believe the killing may have been orchestrated by an organized criminal network with access to significant financial resources.
The MP was shot dead on April 30 near City Mortuary by a lone gunman who escaped on a motorbike.
Police said the suspect had trailed the MP’s vehicle all the way from Nairobi CBD after he concluded the day’s business in Parliament.
Police said the murder was premeditated. An autopsy revealed that he was shot five times at close range and succumbed to the injuries.
Calls for expedited thorough investigations into the murder of Kasipul MP Ong’ondo Were took center stage Wednesday during the requiem mass for the late MP in Nairobi.
National Assembly Chief Whip Sylvanus Osoro led the calls saying while they appreciate the efforts made so far by the security officers in arresting suspects, there was need for police to also unravel the mystery behind the killing and identify the masterminds.
“We ask you to bring the real culprits. We want to know who sent those young men to kill our colleague,” he said.
“I don’t think that person just woke up in the morning and told himself ‘I’m going to do this particular crime’. He must have been sent by somebody. Who is that person? That is the question we are asking the DCI and security agencies.”
Osoro spoke during the memorial service held at the Consolata Shrine in Westlands, Nairobi.
He was, however, optimistic that in due course, the master planners of the murder would be unmasked.
Fellow lawmakers said Were had expressed fear over his life and even changed his vehicle on the day he was murdered.
Giving an account of the fateful day, Osoro explained that Were appeared disturbed.
“He sat alone at the corner. Any person that would pass by would agree he was not the normal Were that we all knew,” he said.
Were left behind two widows.
He is set to be laid to rest on Friday at his rural home in Homa Bay County.
