Detectives retrieve crucial details in Kasipul MP murder probe

Police officers lead by Homicide team investigate the killing of Kasipul MP Ong'ondo Were along Valley road-Ngong road-Mbagathi road roundabout. [Jonah Onyango, Standard]

As they race against time to unmask the killers of Kasipul MP Charles Ong'ondo Were, detectives are analyzing a threatening message that was sent on the legislator's mobile phone.

A week before he met his death, Were had complained that his life was in danger.

Investigators pursuing the killers are trying to identify the sender of the threatening message that stated "Utaona" translated to mean the MP was not safe and that he was living on borrowed time.

Relatives and friends have indicated that the controversial lawmaker, fearing for his safety, had gone ahead and reported the matter at Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) headquarters at Mazingira House, along Kiambu Road and at the local DCI offices in Kasipul constituency.

On Friday, while demanding speedy investigations into Were's death, Uriri MP Mark Nyamita recounted how he survived what he termed an assassination attempt while attending a football match when a leading politician arrived with goons who shot at his car, and shattered windows.

He said that had it not been for the action of his supporters, he could have long been dead, and blamed the police for not taking action over the incident, which left many people hurt.

"When these reports are made, and the police don't do anything about them, then it is a worrying trend. We hear Mheshimiwa Ong'ondo Were had made reports, and nothing had been done. We have many of these reports in Migori... the death of one of our colleagues should be a wake-up call," said Nyamita.

Detectives are treating the sender of the message as one of the prime suspects, although no arrests have been made so far, according director of Homicide Unit Martin Nyaguto, who is leading the probe.

The second-term MP was fatally shot on Wednesday evening at a traffic red light near City Mortuary in a ride-by attack executed by two men on a motorbike. A postmortem on the body will be conducted tomorrow.

The motorbike rode past the MP's car before the armed pillion passenger dismounted, walked back a few steps, pulled a gun and aimed at Were, who was on the front passenger seat, and talking on his mobile phone.

It is also emerging that the Integrated Command Communication Control Center (IC3) located at Jogoo House is not reliable. That most of the cameras mounted in the city centre, along key roads and highways and surrounding environs are either dysfunctional or have been vandalized.

The surveillance system was installed by Safaricom in 2014 at a cost of Sh14.9 billion. The system was billed as a game-changer in fighting crime through technology.

In the early days of installation, the cameras could capture with precision unusual happenings in the Central Business District (CBD) and surrounding environs. This is no longer the case, multiple police sources said on Saturday.

"Had the IC3, been working, we could have caught the MP's killers in real time. The cameras could have captured the movement of the motorbike all through, unfortunately, most of them are not functioning," said a police officer.

For the past four days, detectives have been relying on cameras from several buildings to get images of the motorbike's movement - a strenuous task that is slowing down their investigations as pressure mounts from an expectant public.

When he was being vetted last August for the position of Inspector General of Police, Douglas Kanja, acknowledged the system that was to be operated by a core team of officers assisted by communications experts was not reliable.

"The CCTV project was a noble idea to enhance the ability to control and tame crime. I will find out why the system based at Jogoo House, in partnership with Safaricom, seems to have collapsed. The third eye is key in managing crime," stated Kanja.

But as they struggle to unmask Were's killers as well as establish the motive, detectives say they have made significant progress by piecing together movements of the two attackers.

They are studying footage from multiple cameras mounted in the CBD and those on buildings around City Mortuary Roundabout. The MP had spent the better part of the afternoon in Parliament before leaving at around 7pm.

Police have maintained that the 7:30pm attack was the nature of crime appeared to be targeted and premeditated, and that the MP was trailed from the city centre before the killers struck at the opportune time.

"At this stage, it is too early to provide further detail. Senior police commanders and detectives are at the scene, piecing together the circumstances surrounding the death," said state police Spokesman Muchiri Nyaga.