Kenyan MP shot dead in ‘devastating' targeted attack on streets of capital
Charles Ong'ondo Were, a member of parliament representing Kasipul constituency in Kenya 's west, died after being shot on the Ngong Road on Wednesday evening when his vehicle stopped at a traffic light, Kenya's police said in a statement.
The shooter was riding as a passenger on a motorcycle that stopped alongside the lawmaker's car, the police said, citing a witness.
"The pillion passenger approached the vehicle and fired shots at the passenger side before jumping back onto the motorcycle and speeding away," police officials said in a statement. "The nature of this crime appears to be both targeted and premeditated,' they added.
Were was inside the car along with his bodyguard and driver when the bike approached their car. The pillion passenger, police said, then disembarked and approached the lawmaker's car before firing at him. His driver and bodyguard were unhurt and rushed him to the Nairobi Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival, according to reports.
Kenyan president Willian Ruto urged the police to conduct a 'thorough investigation' and said that those responsible 'must be held to account' in remarks issued on Thursday.
Kenyan parliament speaker Moses Wetang'ula called Were a "fearless and distinguished" legislator, as he described his shooting as "devastating".
Were was reelected in 2022 to represent Kasipul constituency in western Kenya for the Orange Democratic Movement Party and was a major opposition voice.
His party leader Raila Odinga has described Were as a 'gallant son of the soil'. Mr Odinga was president Ruto's main challenger in the 2022 general election.
"Were is no more; mercilessly and in cold blood, gunned down by an assassin in Nairobi this evening," Mr Odinga wrote on X.
Mr Odinga had rejected the 2022 election result, alleging irregularities, but he and some of his allies have since struck agreements to work with Mr Ruto to address Kenya's economic and political challenges.
Kenya has been a relatively stable country in the region which has witnessed several civil conflicts in recent years and political assassinations are unusual in the African nation.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Record
13 hours ago
- Daily Record
Albino Scots hypnotist backs SCIAF campaign to help Africans with condition
Fraser Penman is taking time out to back SCIAF's summer campaign to support people with disabilities. A Lanarkshire hypnotist described as 'Scotland's answer to Derren Brown' is using his experience of Albinism to help those affected by the condition in some of the poorest parts of the world. In the run up to his new headline show at the Edinburgh Fringe, mind reader Fraser Penman is taking time out to back SCIAF's summer campaign to support people with disabilities. In Scotland, one in 17,000 have Albinism, but in Malawi, where SCIAF works, it's one in 130. They may have been born more than 8,000 miles apart but Fraser and Baison Makolopa have more in common than you would think. Both hid from their genetic condition, albinism, and felt isolated from their communities. And both turned their lives - and fortunes - around to live life to the full. Fraser, 30, grew up in East Kilbride and still lives in the South Lanarkshire town. He was bullied at school when he was just eight-years-old 'because he was different', culminating in a violent gang attack when he was a teenager. Half a world away in southern Malawi, Baison Makolopa, 36, Baison has faced unimaginable challenges, even facing attempts on his life. He's one of almost 140,000 people in Malawi living with albinism – a condition that affects his vision and puts his skin at risk in the hot African sun. The brutal stigma around his condition almost cost Baison his life when attackers got into his home during the night. Fortunately, he escaped just in time before the intruders found him. Baison said: 'When I was attacked, I remember it was night-time, and I was sleeping. I heard people pushing open the door – there were people in my house! 'My house has two doors and so, by the time the attackers had got in, I was able to sneak out the other door. I was so scared and had many sleepless nights afterwards.' In Malawi, people with albinism can face extreme discrimination, isolation, and violence – and often extreme poverty. Harmful superstitions, like the belief that body parts from people with albinism bring luck, fuel violent attacks, leaving them vulnerable and afraid. Baison has found support in an unlikely place in Scotland. The Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (SCIAF), through their local partner in Malawi, the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP), has provided skills training and grants to people like Baison, to help them develop their own business. This then enables people with albinism to earn a living and lift themselves out of poverty. They're also helping change attitudes in communities, working with people like Baison, the police, teachers, and leaders to fight stigma, prevent violence, and bring perpetrators to justice. Baison turned his life around after he first came into contact with SCIAF's partner, adding: 'They challenged us to believe in ourselves and encouraged us to start a business, so I started selling rice. Slowly, the business began to grow. Then I opened this shop.' Fraser says he's proud to support SCIAF's work with people with disabilities, including Albinism. He added: 'I love that SCIAF gives people the opportunity to believe in themselves and achieve their dreams by providing them with a pathway to unleash their imagination. 'I want to make a difference drawing on the struggles I had when I was younger. 'I am so proud to be associated with this campaign. SCIAF aligns with my mission in life which is to help anyone, no matter if they have a disability or not, to become the best version of themselves.' Donating to SCIAF's Dignity for All Appeal couldn't be simpler. It only takes a couple of minutes to donate at To give £5 you can text SCIAF to 70480 or to give £20 you can text SCIAF to 70450.
Daily Mirror
a day ago
- Daily Mirror
Naked blood-drinking Black Axe 'mafia' feared to be recruiting UK 'money mules'
Members of the Nigerian Black Axe gang - who are inducted via a physically and mentally tortuous blood drinking ritual - are believed to be operating a vast cybercrime network A violent criminal cult known for its bizarre naked blood-drinking initiation rituals has become one of the world's most dangerous mafia groups - and it is now targeting British teens. The Black Axe gang was, once upon, a time a secretive confraternity based in the University of Benin in Benin, Nigeria, established as part of the 1977 Pan-African movement. Early on, it was steered towards "intellectual radicalism in pursuit of Pan-African struggles", and its presence grew throughout several African nations and universities as part of the Neo-Black movement. But now, it has been dubbed a " mafia -style gang" accused of committing a vast array of crimes ranging from election interference to human trafficking, some in the UK. Black Axe members are a mix of volunteers and forced conscripts, join the group following a brutal initiation in which they are stripped naked before being physically and mentally tortured and forced to drink blood. They have long been associated with election fraud, human trafficking, illegal drug trading, initimidation and violence, with images occasionally surfacing online in Nigeria showing dead and mutilated bodies believed to be the Black Axe's handiwork. Their most lucrative criminal enterprise, however, is cybercrime. Investigators believe the Black Axe has a vast global network of cyber criminal cells that generate a staggering $5 billion (£3.7 billion) a year. Around 30,000 people are believed to be working for the group, which has tendrils believed to extend from Nigeria to Malaysia, the Gulf States, Canada, the US, Malaysia and up to a dozen other nations. Law enforcement agencies now believe British and Irish young people are being targeted by the group via Snapchat, the most popular social media network among teens, with thousands believed to be falling into its clutches across Europe. It is believed that students are among those being blackmailed into acting as money mules after criminals receive compromising images of them, with the group known to operate via Snapchat, favouring its disappearing messages function. Recruiters reportedly use straightforward registration forms through which they have mules fill in bank details and other key bits of information, including accounts, which they then use to move fraudulent money. Senior detectives say they have recovered images of completed versions of this form from seized phones. Detective Superintendent Michael Cryan, of the Garda Economic Crime Bureau in Ireland, told the publication people are lured with the promise of "easy money". Speaking last month, he said: "Individuals need to realise that if they act as a money mule, they are interacting with vicious transnational organised criminals. You owe them and they control you. If the money is frozen by the bank, they have been known to demand that you pay up yourself like drug dealers. "The money mules have no idea what their account will be used for, how much or where it was stolen. If stolen in the USA, they may look to extradite you there to charge you and sentencing is very harsh there. "They also need to realise that they are helping organised crime gangs who traffic humans, who run brothels, as well as funding their lavish lifestyles. People who get involved in this are destroying their own futures because they could go to jail, end up with a criminal record and be prevented from getting jobs."
Reuters
5 days ago
- Reuters
Issues on the agenda at the G20 finance meeting in South Africa
JOHANNESBURG, July 16 (Reuters) - Group of 20 finance officials meet in South Africa from Thursday amid trade tensions, a global economic slowdown and Washington's threat to withdraw from multilateral organisations. President Cyril Ramaphosa has sought to leverage Africa's first G20 presidency to promote an African agenda, with topics including the high cost of capital and climate change. Here are the key issues to be discussed: Nearly two dozen countries in Africa are already in or at high risk of debt distress, the International Monetary Fund said. Debt-servicing costs crowd out spending on services like infrastructure development, health and education. Launched in late 2020, the G20 Common Framework is a platform aimed at speeding up and simplifying the process of getting overstretched countries back on their feet. But progress has been slow. Making the platform more efficient is one target for South Africa. Ramaphosa launched an Africa Expert Panel in March whose role is to galvanise efforts, chief among them debt relief. Panel chair Trevor Manuel told Reuters it had already begun to make detailed recommendations on improving the framework. "One of the reforms is that the opportunities in the Common Framework should be available to all middle-income countries as well," said Manuel. With aid and development-finance cuts and a pivot by wealthy countries to defence spending, traditional funding sources for developing nations have become scarcer. South Africa is looking to shore up favourable finance for poorer nations. It wants to strengthen and improve the role of multilateral development banks in financing for development. Washington, meanwhile, could potentially withdraw from more global institutions - including these banks. Some analysts believe Washington's withdrawal from multilateralism could leave a space for China to occupy, but it is unclear if Beijing aims to do that. Lending to Africa from China has slowed to a trickle leaving an $80 billion financing gap. Meanwhile, U.S. and European grants - accounting for 25% of the region's external financing - face cuts as Washington suspends foreign aid and European capitals redirect funds toward defence. President Donald Trump's administration has withdrawn from the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) - a key focus for South Africa that is designed to help developing countries transition away from coal to cleaner energy. Launched in 2021, JETPs aim to funnel money from governments, multilateral lenders and the private sector to renewable energy projects in a way that benefits local communities. On Monday, the G20's financial stability watchdog said it had developed a new plan to tackle climate risks but it had paused further policy work in light of the U.S. retreat from climate action. Mobilising funding for climate disasters affecting the Global South was a key agenda item for South Africa's presidency. Trump's tariff threats have disrupted the global economy and the response will dominate the agenda even as U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent skips the gathering. U.S. plans for tariffs on Canada, Europe and Mexico as well as threats to impose further levies on BRICS member countries including China, India, Russia, Brazil and G20 host South Africa, further heighten tensions between the world's largest economy and other G20 nations. Director General of Treasury Duncan Pieterse said in a statement on Monday that he hoped to issue the first Communique under the South African G20 presidency at the end of the meetings. The G20 was last able to take a mutually agreed stance to issue a Communique in July of 2024.
