Opondo Kaluma Hints ODM May Pick Ong'ondo Were's Kin to Succeed Him: "His Lineage Won't End"
- Ong'ondo Were's eldest son has been proposed as the best fit to succeed his father as the Kasipul MP
- The proposition was fronted by Homa Bay MP Peter Kaluma, who argued that Were's legacy ought to be continued by his kin
- Were shot dead on Nairobi's Ngong Road on April 30; he was serving his second term in the National Assembly
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Kai Eli, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings more than three years of experience covering politics and current affairs in Kenya.
The Kasipul constituency adds to the areas that constituents will get into by-elections to elect their new leaders.
Source: Facebook
The seat in Kasipul fell vacant following the killing of MP Charles Ong'ondo Were, who was serving his second term.
Were was shot dead on Nairobi's Ngong Road on April 30.
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Who will succeed Ong'ondo Were as Kasipul MP?
In anticipation of the mini-poll, Homa Bay MP Peter Opondo Kaluma hinted at the ODM party retaining the ticket in the slain MP's family.
Kaluma suggested that the party might field Were's son to succeed him.
He referenced the arrangement in the 2015 senatorial by-election in Homa Bay county when the first senator, Otieno Kajwang', died.
The MP recalled the seat being negotiated for the current senator, Moses Otieno Kajwang', to replace his elder brother, who had died in November 2014.
He implored Governor Gladys Wanga, who is the ODM party's national chairman, to intervene and secure the ticket for Were's son.
"You remember when Otieno Kajwang' died, we sat down together with the then Homa Bay governor, Awiti Cyprian and consulted. We agreed that his brother, Moses, was the right candidate to succeed him. Has he not delivered? When you sit down to decide who succeeds Were, governor, I ask you to inform me but what I know about you is that you never forget your friends. Were's lineage will not die," Kaluma said.
Kaluma spoke on Saturday, May 3, at Were's home in Kasipul.
Did government agent kill Ong'ondo Were?
Meanwhile, the Homa Bay MP alleged that the fatal attack was carried out by a highly skilled gunman, potentially with past or present ties to the government.
Source: Facebook
He argued that the precision and accuracy of the shooting suggested it was not the work of an ordinary civilian.
According to him, an inexperienced assassin would likely have struggled to confidently pursue the deceased’s car through police-monitored traffic and then calmly dismount from a motorcycle to open fire.
However, as speculation continues to build amid the mourning of the late MP, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) reported significant progress in probing the case.
On May 2, two days after the incident, detectives issued a public statement detailing the advancements made in the investigation.
The day before, specialised state detectives and forensic experts had examined the crime scene.
The DCI team also gathered witness statements from Ong'ondo’s driver and bodyguard, both of whom survived the attack unhurt.
Additionally, investigators questioned the attendant at the M-Pesa outlet where the MP had made a brief stop before his tragic end.
Proofreading by Asher Omondi, copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
