Lawmaker in Kenya gunned down by motorcycle-riding assailant

A Kenyan lawmaker was gunned down on a busy Nairobi street by a motorcycle-riding assassin Wednesday evening, in what the police described as a "targeted and premeditated" attack.

The lawmaker, Charles Were, who was serving a second term in parliament, was in a vehicle stopped at a traffic light when he was killed, the police said. Witnesses reported that a person riding on the back of a motorcycle had hopped off and shot into the passenger side of Were's car before being whisked away by the motorcycle's driver, the police said.

A motive was not immediately clear. Muchiri Nyaga, a police spokesperson, said in a statement Wednesday that it was too early for authorities to provide additional details.

President William Ruto of Kenya called on the police to "conduct a thorough investigation" and expressed his condolences to Were's family. "Those responsible must be held to account," he said in a statement Thursday.

The police said the driver and another passenger in the car were unharmed in the shooting and quickly drove Were to Nairobi Hospital, where he was pronounced dead upon arrival.

Were was reelected to parliament in 2022 as a member of the Orange Democratic Movement, the opposition party led by Raila Odinga, Ruto's main rival in the previous general election.

Odinga, in a statement Thursday, compared the daytime shooting to "a gangland-style execution" that was "shockingly barbaric."

Kenya has a reputation as a relatively stable nation in a volatile region. Frustration with the government hit a new high last year during deadly protests against a tax increase. Dozens of people were abducted or arbitrarily detained by security forces, according to activists and human rights groups.

Ruto promoted the tax increase as a necessary measure to curb the country's staggering debt.

A wealthy businessperson who grew up poor, Ruto campaigned on a platform of improving the economy for Kenyans. His critics say that had not happened.