A routine police response to a reported break-in at a Kisumu resort turned tragic on Monday morning after officers shot dead former Siaya County Assembly Clerk, Felix Isaac Olwero, in what is now being treated as a suspected case of mistaken identity.
Olwero, 50, who also owned the Whitehouse Resort in Seme, was allegedly trying to assess the situation at his premises when police opened fire, mistaking him for one of the suspects.
According to a report filed at Kombewa Police Station, officers had been dispatched to the scene after the resort’s manager, Sandra Okech, raised the alarm over intruders. On arrival, the officers secured the rear side of the property. Moments later, a group of six men reportedly armed with pangas emerged from a nearby thicket. Police say one man charged toward them, prompting an officer to shoot only for it to emerge later that the victim was Olwero himself.
The fatal shooting has triggered outrage among residents and family members, who accuse police of acting recklessly and demand accountability. “This was careless, unjustified, and avoidable,” said one resident outside the resort.
Authorities have since launched a formal investigation. Olwero’s body was moved to the Kombewa Sub-County Referral Hospital mortuary, where a post-mortem will be carried out. Police have not confirmed whether any of the alleged suspects involved in the attempted break-in were arrested.
Olwero, well known in Siaya and Kisumu political circles, had his career at the County Assembly cut short in May 2024 when MCAs voted to remove him from office over alleged gross misconduct and violation of the Constitution.
His sudden and violent death has left family, colleagues, and friends in shock, casting a dark cloud over both his legacy and the circumstances that led to the police’s fatal error.
