The murder investigation into Kasipul MP Charles Ong’ondo Were took a dramatic turn Wednesday night when businessman Philip Nahashon Aroko voluntarily reported to police after being named a key person of interest.
Aroko, a prominent figure with visible political ambitions in Homa Bay County, walked into Gigiri Police Station hours after the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) issued a public alert calling for his immediate surrender. The MP was gunned down near Nairobi’s City Mortuary on April 30 in what police suspect was a targeted assassination, carried out by a gunman on a motorcycle tailing his vehicle.
The DCI’s statement was firm: Aroko’s cooperation wasn’t optional. Investigators are now questioning him to determine what role if any he may have played in the killing. The pressure on Aroko to respond publicly was swift, and so was his rebuttal.
Denying any connection to the murder, Aroko pointed fingers at what he described as toxic local politics. In a fiery statement after his arrival at the station, he accused Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga of orchestrating a campaign to implicate him, suggesting that political rivalry not evidence was behind the push to involve him in the case.
Aroko, whose name has been floated in political circles as a possible contender for the Kasipul seat, framed the summons as an intimidation tactic. He insisted that the murder probe had been hijacked by political forces determined to sideline him.
Meanwhile, detectives continue to unravel the events leading to the MP’s killing, with Aroko’s surrender adding a fresh layer to what is quickly becoming a politically charged investigation.
