Postmortem Deepens Mystery Over Ex-MP David Were’s Son’s Brutal Killing as Family Raises Questions Over ‘Missing Hours’ and Witness Account
Fresh mystery now surrounds the shocking killing of Hanington Were, the son of former Matungu MP David Were, after a postmortem examination contradicted early claims about how he died and triggered fresh demands for an intensive murder probe.
Hanington Were, 39, an employee of the National Social Security Fund stationed at the Huduma Centre in Kisumu, was attacked by unknown assailants near Dr Robert Ouko Estate in Kisumu City on Sunday night.
Initial reports suggested the father of one had been struck on the back of the head with a blunt object during a robbery by boda boda-riding thugs.
But the findings of a postmortem conducted at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital have now cast serious doubt on that version of events.
Speaking after the autopsy on Tuesday, a visibly shaken David Were revealed doctors established his son actually died from multiple stab wounds that caused catastrophic internal bleeding.
“We had initially been informed that he was hit with a blunt object on the back of the head and collapsed, but the post-mortem tells us he had three major stab wounds, and those are the injuries that caused his death because he bled profusely internally,” said the former MP.
According to Were, pathologists discovered that one of the stab wounds pierced Hanington’s lungs from the back, while another penetrated the lower section of the lungs before damaging the kidneys.
“The doctors told us whoever did this intended to kill him,” he said.
“The injuries were extremely severe internally, and even if he had been rushed to hospital immediately, survival chances would have been very minimal.”
The revelation has intensified suspicion around the account given by a man believed to have been with Hanington during his final moments.
The family says the witness insisted boda boda attackers assaulted Hanington using a blunt object — a claim now contradicted by medical evidence.
“The only serious injuries were stab wounds,” said Were.
“Even the doctor who first attended to him at casualty confirmed my son had already died by the time he arrived and what they noticed were stab wounds on the back.”
Adding to the mystery is what the family describes as a troubling three-hour gap between the alleged attack and the time Hanington was finally taken to hospital.
“We are trying to understand what happened during that period because the person who was with him says the attack happened around midnight, but he was taken to hospital around 3am,” said the former legislator.
According to the family, Hanington had spent most of the day with the witness, who reportedly operates a cybercafé at the Huduma Centre where the deceased worked.
Were disclosed that detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations interrogated the man alongside another individual before later releasing them.
“He first recorded a statement, then he was picked up again together with a friend he stays with and interrogated for several hours. I’m told he was detained for about 12 hours before being released,” he said.
Hanington’s widow, Faniet Magalu, also raised alarm over what she described as suspicious behaviour by the witness on the night her husband died.
“As Baba has said, the report shows the guy who was with him lied in his statement,” she said.
“He said boda boda riders hit him with a blunt object, but the major cause of death was stab wounds.”
Magalu claimed the man later went into their bedroom and changed into Hanington’s clothes before informing her that her husband had allegedly been rushed to hospital.
“He came to my house and changed into my husband’s T-shirt before waking me up and telling me we needed to go to the hospital,” she recalled.
“When I got there, I found my husband had already died.”
She further claimed the witness said he fled during the attack before later returning to find Hanington lying in a pool of blood.
According to the grieving family, the man allegedly hired a boda boda rider to ferry Hanington to hospital but failed to pay the rider afterward.
David Were now believes his son may have been the target of a planned attack.
“The way the witness is explaining the incident leaves a lot of gaps,” he said.
“We leave it to the DCI to investigate fully, but to me, it appears this was planned.”
The killing has compounded tragedy within the family, coming barely five months after another of Were’s sons died in Nairobi’s Mlolongo area under unclear circumstances.
The former MP said the family is still waiting for answers regarding that earlier death and urged investigators to move swiftly in uncovering the truth behind Hanington’s killing.
“We just want the investigations to move fast, so that we know exactly what happened and who was behind it,” he said.
Burial arrangements are currently underway, with the funeral expected to take place next week.
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