Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga has disclosed that he learnt of the heartbreaking assassination of Kasipul Member of Parliament, Charles Ong’ondo Were, through Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU) Secretary General Francis Atwoli.

Speaking as he joined a sea of mourners at the MP’s residence in Homa Bay on Friday, May 9, 2025, Raila recounted that he received a distress call from Atwoli merely minutes after the fatal shooting and swiftly rushed to the Nairobi Hospital to witness the unfolding tragedy with his own eyes.

According to Raila, he arrived at the hospital precisely five minutes after receiving the harrowing call, and he was deeply shaken by the sight of Ong’ondo lying lifeless, his vibrant life cruelly snatched away by the barbaric assassination.

“Atwoli is the one who called me. ‘Oh, Mheshimiwa, one of your Members of Parliament has been shot and killed.’ I asked him which one, and he told me it was the MP for Kasipul. I asked him where, and he said it had happened near the City Mortuary. Some people had been stalking him, ambushed him, and he was taken to Nairobi Hospital. Within five minutes of that call, I was at Nairobi Hospital and found Ong’ondo there, lying.” He said.

Furthermore, Raila expressed his firm belief that the perpetrators did not stumble upon Ong’ondo by chance at that location, but had been pursuing him since morning, perhaps even as early as the previous night.

He vehemently condemned the heinous act and spoke with searing emotion about those responsible, warning that they should not find comfort, as it was only a matter of time before they faced justice.

“These people had been trailing him from the morning or even the day before. They are known, and they will be arrested,” he added.

Killer Ong’ondo

Raila then channelled his outrage towards a section of Kenyans who had been peddling claims online that Ong’ondo had been a killer.

He lamented that such grave accusations were reckless and unjust, and asserted that those propagating such defamatory narratives should not rest easy, as they might very well be the architects of the MP’s demise.

He lashed out further, arguing that if Ong’ondo truly had a criminal past, the authorities would have long since apprehended him.

“And even those others, who a day after seeing that Ong’ondo had been killed, went on social media to circulate stories about people Ong’ondo had supposedly killed… If he were a killer, why has he never been arrested or charged? This is not an allegation against Ong’ondo; it is a damning indictment of our security agencies—that a Member of Parliament, allegedly a murderer, has never faced arrest. And those individuals who have been orchestrating these social media attacks, they themselves are the ones who masterminded this atrocity.”

Raila then offered heartfelt words in honour of Ong’ondo’s soul, painting him as a noble man who, despite meeting a cruel and untimely death, would continue to dwell in their spirits and memories.

He added that the overriding expectation is that all those who plotted the gruesome assassination would ultimately be brought to justice, as a nation like Kenya could not persist in such a paralysing and self-destructive state.

“Ong’ondo has been shot and killed, but his spirit will continue to live. We cannot continue to live in this kind of society,” Raila concluded.