A Kenyan lawmaker was gunned down on a busy Nairobi road by a motorcycle-riding murderer on Wednesday night, in what the police described as a “focused and premeditated” assault.
The lawmaker, Charles Have been, who was serving a second time period in Parliament, was in a automobile stopped at a site visitors mild when he was killed, the police mentioned. Witnesses reported that an individual driving on the again of a bike had hopped off and shot into the passenger aspect of Mr. Have been’s automotive earlier than being whisked away by the motorbike’s driver, the police mentioned.
A motive was not instantly clear. Muchiri Nyaga, a police spokesman, mentioned in a statement on Wednesday that it was too early for the authorities to offer extra particulars.
President William Ruto of Kenya referred to as on the police to “conduct a radical investigation” and expressed his condolences to Mr. Have been’s household. “These accountable have to be held to account,” he said in an announcement on Thursday.
The police mentioned the motive force and one other passenger within the automotive had been unhurt within the capturing and rapidly drove Mr. Have been to Nairobi Hospital, the place he was pronounced useless upon arrival.
Mr. Have been was re-elected to Parliament in 2022 as a member of the Orange Democratic Motion, the opposition social gathering led by Raila Odinga, Mr. Ruto’s primary rival within the earlier basic election.
Mr. Odinga, in a statement on Thursday, in contrast the daytime capturing to “a gangland-style execution” that was “shockingly barbaric.”
Kenya has a repute as a comparatively steady nation in a risky area. Frustration with the federal government hit a brand new high final yr throughout lethal protests in opposition to a tax enhance. Dozens of individuals had been abducted or arbitrarily detained by safety forces, in line with activists and human rights teams.
Mr. Ruto promoted the tax enhance as a vital measure to curb the nation’s staggering debt.
A rich businessman who grew up poor, Mr. Ruto campaigned on a platform of enhancing the financial system for Kenyans. His critics say that had not occurred.
Abdi Latif Dahir contributed reporting.
