Kenya's National Police Service have confirmed the fatal shooting of member of parliament Charles Ong'ondo Were. 

Eye witnesses report a passenger on a motorbike shooting Were while his car was stopped at a red traffic light in the capital, Nairobi, police said in a statement released on Thursday. 

Were was announced dead on arrival at hospital on Wednesday evening, police said.

"The nature of this crime appears both targeted and premeditated," police said.

National Assembly speaker Moses Wetang'ula called the news "devastating" in a Facebook post. 

The loss … is not just a tragedy to his family and the people of Kasipul but also a big loss to the people of Kenya," he wrote.

Were was a member of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) and represented the Kasipul constituency in Homa Bay County, a rural area in the western part of the country.

ODM leader Raila Odinga lost to William Ruto in the 2022, with Odinga later rejecting the results due to alleged irregularities.

Since then, Odinga struck a deal with Ruto to address some of the issues at hand in Kenya.

Edited by: Sean Sinico and Rana Tana