Ex-police spokesperson Owino says slain Kasipul MP married his cousin and boss’s daughter
Former police spokesperson Charles Owino has revealed his long-standing personal relationship with slain Kasipul Member of Parliament Charles Were, describing his killing as deeply regrettable and unnecessary.
Speaking on a local media station on Sunday, May 11, 2025, Owino disclosed that his connection with Were predated the MP’s political career, stretching back to when Were was still based in Meru.
“I’ve personally known Were for quite some time, before he became a member of parliament. I was also involved when he had a case of a lady who apparently disappeared, and we had a lot of discussions with him,” Owino stated.
Owino, who heads the National Communication Centre, further explained that their relationship extended beyond professional interactions to family ties, as Were had married his cousin, who later passed away.
“He married my cousin, the first wife who passed on. He also married a daughter to my former boss, the police officer, a very nice young girl,” Owino added.
He described Were as someone he had closely followed throughout his political journey, including his unsuccessful first run and eventual election as MP.
Tensions and rivalry
Reflecting on the political climate in Were’s home region, Owino noted that intra-community political rivalries are often fraught, but said he never imagined they would escalate into violence.
“I’ve known about those village discussions, and usually, you know, Nilotes, we have a lot of hatred amongst ourselves. So I took it to be normal political differences,” he explained.
“But I didn’t expect it to go to that extent where an individual would lose his life because of maybe political differences or such matters. That was a little bit extreme,” he added.
He further cautioned that if investigations confirm that the killing was politically motivated or orchestrated by local competitors, it would be a grim indictment of the state of politics.
“If it comes out that it has been organised by local competitors, then that would be very unfortunate,” he said.
High-profile murder
Were, a second-term MP elected on an ODM ticket, was gunned down along Ngong Road in Nairobi on April 30, 2025, in a brazen assassination that investigators believe was carried out by a criminal network aided by insiders.
According to police, a gunman trailing Were on a motorcycle approached the Toyota Crown the MP was travelling in, walked up to the passenger side, and opened fire, killing him instantly.
Eleven suspects are currently in custody, including the MP’s own driver and bodyguard, as well as a former political rival.
Among them is William Imoli alias Omar Shakur, who told police he was paid Ksh80,000 by Were’s bodyguard to transport individuals to the vicinity of the shooting.
Authorities believe the suspects either directly participated in the assassination or facilitated it.
Were was laid to rest on May 9 in Kasipul, Homa Bay County, in a funeral service attended by prominent leaders, including former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula, and Cabinet Secretaries John Mbadi and Opiyo Wandayi.
ODM deputy party leader Godfrey Osotsi and Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna were also in attendance.
