Ong’ondo Were’s son: My father’s killers don’t scare us
In a powerful display of defiance and resilience, the son of slain Kasipul MP Charles Ong’ondo Were declared that his family would not be cowed by fear following the politician’s assassination, insisting that those responsible for his father’s death would not derail their purpose or silence their voice.
Boid Were, speaking on Friday, May 9, 2025, at a solemn funeral service held at Karabok Primary School in Oyugis, Homa Bay County, offered mourners a glimpse of the family’s pain – but also their resolve.
His father, the Kasipul Member of Parliament, was recently gunned down under circumstances that remain the subject of a national investigation and widespread speculation.
“First of all as a family we are not intimidated, we can’t be intimidated,” Boid told a packed gathering of local leaders, supporters, and fellow mourners.
“Mzee was a fearless person and what I am sure of he never raised a coward. So for those who thought by intimidating by eliminating dad they will succeed, that will not happen. It will not disrupt our cause for the people of Kasipul,” he added.
Though he stopped short of formally announcing a run for his father’s vacant seat, Boid hinted at stepping into the political spotlight to continue his father’s unfinished work in the constituency.
His remarks were met with loud applause and rallying cries from the crowd, many of whom called for continuity and justice.
Endorsements
The funeral in Kasipul quickly turned from mourning into a political moment, as a string of elected leaders echoed Boid’s sentiments and urged opposition leader Raila Odinga to endorse a member of the Were family to fill the Kasipul parliamentary seat.
Hilary Nyiganet Arap Kosgei, the MP for Kipkelion West and a brother-in-law to the slain legislator, was among the most vocal.
“Your Excellency, kama familia tutaomba, unajua hii watu inaua watu inataka kiti,” Kosgei told Raila in Swahili.
“We want to shame them ya kuwa hakuna kiti hata baada ya kuua. Baba tunaomba uwele mkono mtoto mmoja wa Were amalize kazi ya baba yake,” he added.
The plea urged Raila to back one of the slain MP’s sons as a political successor, arguing that doing so would send a message that political violence would not be rewarded with power.
Kosgei’s comments were followed by similarly charged appeals from other lawmakers, including Lamu County Woman Representative Muthoni Murabu, who took a more personal and humorous approach to her endorsement.
“Mimi Were alikuwa amenionyesha akona vijana wawili ambao ni karibi rika yangu. Baba unaona unaona mkono yangu sijaweka pete,” she joked, holding up her bare hand to laughter.
“Baba ukituma kijana ya Were bunge, mi mwenyewe Muthoni nitaonyesha yeye,” the Lamu Woman Rep added.
Murabu’s light-hearted but symbolic offer to show around Were’s son in parliament was received with cheers, blending politics with public courtship in a uniquely Kenyan expression of solidarity.
Nyamira Woman Representative Jerusha Momanyi added to the chorus of political matchmaking, going as far as to offer one of her daughters in marriage to a Were son as a sign of family and political unity.
“Baba, we love you. We want to get one leader from this family and I will give my daughter,” she said.
Behind the jokes and romantic gestures, however, lay a deeper sense of urgency.
The killing of Ong’ondo Were has left a leadership vacuum and a trail of unanswered questions. Lawmakers hinted at political motivations, but official investigations remain ongoing.
Charles Ong’ondo Were was gunned down on April 30, 2025, along Valley Road near City Mortuary in Nairobi in what police describe as a targeted killing. An autopsy revealed he was shot five times.
The attack has sparked widespread outrage and renewed calls for increased protection of public officials and a thorough probe into political violence.
What was clear from the funeral in Kasipul, though, was that the Ong’ondo Were’s family is not retreating from public life, and neither is the community. If anything, the killing appears to have galvanised a new sense of political resolve in Kasipul, where constituents are demanding both justice and continuity.
As Boid Were left the podium, the chants from the crowd were not those of grief alone, but of determination – echoing his father’s legacy and, perhaps, signalling the rise of a new generation of leadership.
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Martin Oduor
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