A Kenyan lawmaker was shot on busy Nairobi Street Wednesday evening by a motorcycle assassin who was described as an attack “targeted and planned” by police.
Police, Charles Ray, who served his second term in Congress, was in a vehicle that was stopped at a traffic light when he was killed, police said. Witnesses reported that the person behind the bike was shot in the passenger side of Mr. Cell’s vehicle before jumping off and bubbled into the motorcycle driver, police said.
The motivation was not immediately clear. Police spokesman Muchiri Nyaga said in a statement Wednesday it was too early for the authorities to provide additional details.
Kenya President William Root expressed his sadness by calling on police to “conduct a thorough investigation.” “The person in charge must be held to explain,” he said in a statement Thursday.
Police said the car driver and another passenger were unharmed in the shooting and quickly drove.
In 2022, he was re-elected to Congress in 2022 as a member of the Orange Democrat Movement led by Rutt’s main rival, Laila Odinga, in the previous general election.
In a statement Thursday, Odinga compared the daytime filming to a “shockingly wild bar” “gangland style execution.”
Kenya has a reputation as a relatively stable country in its unstable regions. Frustration against the government reached a new high last year amid a deadly protest against the tax hike. Dozens of people were either accused of security forces or detained intentionally, according to activists and human rights groups.
Rutt promoted tax cuts as a necessary measure to curb the country’s incredible debt.
A wealthy businessman who grew up poorly, Root campaigned on a platform that would improve the economy of Kenyans. His critics say it wasn’t happening.
Abdi Latif Dahir contributed the report.
