The High Court has ordered that Phillip Nahashon Aroko, a suspect in the murder of Kasipul MP Charles Ong’ondo Were remains in police custody for 7 days as directed by the lower court.

This was after Aroko was arraigned at the JKIA court on Friday under a miscellaneous application in connection with the murder of Kasipul MP. 

The court allowed the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to detain him for seven days to complete investigations into the matter.

Meanwhile, High Court Judge Alexander Muteti on Monday May 12, 2025 allowed an application by Aroko to withdraw a petition that challenged the legality of his detention, in which he had accused the police of violating his constitutional rights.

Aroko, through his lawyers Danstan Omari and Sam Nyaberi, had initially filed the application seeking Aroko to be produced in court alive or dead, arguing that the police had detained him beyond the 24-hour constitutional limit without presenting him before a magistrate.

This was after he presented himself at Gigiri police station following mandatory summons by the DCI on May 7, 2025, at 10 p.m., accompanied by his legal team.

However, by close of business on May 8, 2025, Aroko had not been presented before any court in the country, prompting Justice Muteti on May 9 to order that he be produced in open court on Monday May 12, 2025 at 10 a.m.

When he was finally brought before the High Court by officers from the Office of the Inspector General and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), Aroko, through his lawyers, sought to withdraw the application.

He informed the court that he had, in fact, been arraigned at the JKIA Law Courts on Friday afternoon, where the magistrate granted a seven-day custodial order for investigations.

Aroko was however detained at Kileleshwa police station for a week pending probe into two links of being involved in the brutal murder of MP Were.

Despite the earlier claims of constitutional violations by Aroko, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), represented by State Counsel Gikui Gichuhi, did not oppose the withdrawal of the application.

Gichuhi told the court that Aroko was booked at Kasarani Police Station on May 8, 2025, at around 12:18 a.m., and that he was presented before a court within the constitutional timeframe.

Justice Muteti accepted the explanation, ruled that Aroko was in lawful custody based on the JKIA court order and allowed the withdrawal of the application.

He proceeded to mark the file as closed and directed that Aroko remain in custody for seven days pending the outcome of ongoing investigations on whether he will face murder charges alongside other 11 suspects including the MP’s bodyguard Allan Ogola Omondi and driver Walter Owino Awino. 

Others linked to the murder of the late MP include Lake Basin Development Authority director Ebel Ochieng alias Dave Calo.

DCI detectives stated that during the arrest of two suspects namely Edwin Odour Odhiambo and Dennis Sewe Manyasi, they found two pistols and nine live rounds of ammunition, a bag and footwear matching the description of those worn by the gunman at the scene of crime. 

The police arrested the twelve suspects through communication among themselves linking them to the planning and the execution of the late MP.

Police sought to detain the suspects further in order to complete investigations by analysing the CCTV footage along the scene of crime from Parliament to city mortuary where he was killed through several gunshots by a lone gunman.  

“Brief interviews of the suspects have revealed that they have crucial information that could unravel the murder of the deceased person here in and lead to further arrests,” the lead investigating officer told the court.