A vehicle regularly used by the General Secretary of the Communist Party Marxist-Kenya (CPM-K), Booker Ngesa Omole, came under gunfire in the early hours of Tuesday, April 2, 2025, in Nakuru County. The party confirmed that the official CPM-K car, which was carrying party members returning from mobilization work in Siaya, was attacked near Ngata along the Nakuru-Nairobi Highway.
In a statement, CPM-K condemned what it described as “a cowardly attempt on the lives of its officials,” framing the incident as part of “a broader campaign of attacks against the democratic movement in Kenya.”
Details of the attack
Among those in the vehicle were Comrade Jacob Opiyo, Personal Assistant to the General Secretary, his uncle, and a female member. Eyewitnesses and survivor accounts revealed that the car had been trailed by two motorcycles and a white Probox – vehicles the party claims are commonly used by rogue security agents and hired assassins.
The attack took place at approximately 4:00 am, shortly after they had passed through Section 58 in Nakuru town. The assailants opened fire, hitting the hood of the car and deflating one of its tires. The woman in the car sustained a gunshot wound to the shoulder. She received emergency care at Nakuru Provincial General Hospital before being transferred to Nairobi for further treatment.
CPM-K also reported that a police patrol vehicle was present at the scene but failed to intervene until nearly 30 minutes after the attack, allowing the assailants to escape unchallenged.
Growing political repression in Kenya
This latest assault is part of a concerning trend. The party notes that this is not the first time its leadership has been targeted. On January 11, 2025, armed men attacked the residence of General Secretary Booker Omole. In 2024 alone, Comrade Omole survived two separate assassination attempts – one involving a high-speed chase in Nairobi’s Industrial Area and another during a nighttime raid disguised as a criminal operation. Despite multiple reports to authorities, CPM-K states that no serious investigations have been pursued.
In its statement, the party issued the following demands:
- Immediate and transparent investigations into the attempted assassination
- Arrest and prosecution of the assailants and their sponsors
- Public release of CCTV and surveillance footage from Nakuru town on the night of the attack
- An end to the political persecution of revolutionary activists
“We are issuing this brief to alert the public to the rising tide of political violence targeting Marxist-Leninist organizers,” the statement reads. “We urge all independent journalists to investigate and expose this creeping criminalization of dissent, and to situate this attack within the broader narrative of repression in Kenya.”
The incident raises renewed concerns about the safety of political activists in Kenya since last year’s Finance Bill protests. As of now, the motive and identity of the attackers remain unknown, and local law enforcement has yet to issue an official statement.
