Lawmaker Who Warned of 'Hired Goons' Assassinated

Charles Ong'ondo Were, an opposition lawmaker in Kenya, foretold his own death. Were was shot dead in the capital, Nairobi, Wednesday night in what police say appears to have been a "targeted and predetermined" killing. Earlier this year, he warned that "hired goons" were plotting to assassinate him, the BBC reports. He also expressed concerns about rising violence in Kasipul, the constituency in western Kenya he represented. "When you hear I have been killed, Kasipul will not be the same again," he said. "But I know they won't kill me because I have the Bible in my phone and another one under my pillow."

Police say Were was shot by a passenger on a motorcycle after his car stopped at a busy roundabout on a major road, the AP reports. He was pronounced dead on arrival after his driver and bodyguard rushed him to Nairobi Hospital. Were was a member of the Orange Democratic Movement. "We have lost a gallant son of the soil," said party leader Raila Odinga. He said Were was "mercilessly and in cold blood, gunned down by an assassin." President William Ruto, who defeated Odinga in the disputed 2022 election, ordered an investigation, saying, "Those responsible must be held to account." (More Kenya stories.)