Fugitive police officer linked to lawyer Mbobu, Dr Mutiso murders

Lawyer Kyalo Mbobu and Dr Victoria Mutiso. [File, Standard]

The probe into the murder of lawyer Mathew Kyalo Mbobu has taken a new twist after Police Inspector Kenneth Kipkemoi Sang was linked to the killing, barely two months after he was associated with the murder of Dr Victoria Mutiso.

Lawyer Mbobu and Dr Mutiso were shot dead in a similar gangland style. Mbobu was ambushed in a drive-by shooting along Magadi Road while driving to his Karen residence in Nairobi on September 9, 2025.

Almost a year later, Dr Mutiso, a clinical psychologist, was being driven to work in a cab when gunmen waylaid her on July 29, 2026, in Upper Hill. After her fatal shooting, it emerged that Mbobu was her lawyer in a bitter property suit involving the first family of her husband Prof David Musyimi Ndetei.

It was believed there was a nexus between the two murders, which detectives have been struggling to establish until the arrest of Police Constable Julius Cheruiyot, who is suspected of being the gunman who fired the fatal shot.

Although Sang is still in hiding, detectives now believe they have made a breakthrough in the two murders.

Dr Mutiso and her husband’s former wife Rose Mbithe Mulwa were fighting over ownership of prime land in Mlolongo. Mbithe was initially married to Prof Ndetei before they divorced more than two decades ago.

Prof Ndetei later married Dr Mutiso, who was shot dead in a murder that mirrors Hollywood blockbusters.

The arrest of Cheruiyot may now complete the missing puzzle in the murders of Mbobu and Dr Mutiso.

Notably, while updating the media over Dr Mutiso’s murder, Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) boss Mohamed Amin indicated that some of the suspects linked to her killing, might have been involved in the shooting of lawyer Mbobu.

“Some of the suspects involved in this incident may also be linked to the tragic drive-by shooting of the lawyer,” Amin told journalist on August 7, 2026. 

Apart from arresting Cheruiyot after painstaking investigation over the past year, detectives also recovered a Ceska pistol that had been issued to the suspect at the time of the incident.

“Ballistic examination has since confirmed that the firearm was indeed used in the shooting that claimed the life of lawyer Mbobu. The finding provides a significant forensic breakthrough in the investigation and further strengthens the evidentiary trail being assembled by detectives,” said Amin in a statement on Thursday.

Further, according to the DCI chief, detectives established that Inspector Sang who is still at large, coordinated the operation in collaboration with Ms Mbithe who is currently in police custody in connection with Dr Mutiso’s murder.

Mbobu was shot dead in what appeared to be a targeted attack. Though detectives commenced investigations immediately, no person had been arrested in connection with the murder a year later.

“Today’s breakthrough represents a significant development in the investigation. The Directorate extends its deepest condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of the late lawyer and Dr Mutiso, whose lives were tragically cut short,” said Amin.

The DCI boss emphasised that they recognise the pain and anguish endured by the victim’s relatives, assuring them that every effort is being made to ensure that those responsible are identified, apprehended and prosecuted.

“The DCI further assures the public that investigations remain active, with detectives pursuing additional leads to establish the full circumstances, motive, planning and execution of the murder,” added Amin.

Meanwhile, detectives remain on the radar of Sang, who was the officer in charge of Nderi Police Post in Kikuyu of Kiambu County.

He has been identified as the alleged link person between financiers and the operational team assembled to eliminate Dr Mutiso who was the head at Africa Mental Health Research and Training Foundation.

The senior officer allegedly provided the murder weapon – a Mini Jericho pistol loaded with 12 rounds of ammunition. He went underground soon after the fatal shooting of Dr Mutiso.

It is suspected Sang could be hiding in Uganda where Police Constable Collins Kiplangat Bett was arrested while hiding at an apartment in Nakawa suburbs of Kampala.

A senior detective said it is just a matter of time before the fugitive is finally caught and presented in court.

“You can never run from us; we will get him. It is just a matter of time, and regrettably, we can’t reveal much,” said the investigator declining to disclose whether the runaway officer could be hiding in Kenya or elsewhere.

Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua claimed Sang and Bett were sneaked across the border to Uganda at the behest of Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen.

Gachagua claimed that the rogue officers had initially been arrested but released unconditionally. Inspector Sang was allegedly arrested within Thogoto while Constable Bett was arrested around Mazeras on his way to Mombasa.

“We are asking Mr Amin, these officers are in Kenya, they are killers, they have killed Dr Mutiso, and you have confirmed they participated in the murder, why then are you releasing them after Murkomen called you?” Posed Gachagua who was the first to blow the whistle over the involvement of police officers in Dr Mutiso’s murder.

While Bett has since been arrested, Sang is still on the run and being pursued by teams from Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau (CRIB), Homicide Investigations Bureau and DCI’s Operations Directorate that are probing Dr Mutiso’ murder.

On August 29, Bett was traced to Kyanja Heights where he was hiding together with his accomplice Pius Muiru Mbugua. The duo was brought to the country, and arraigned in court.

On the same day, another team arrested Samuel Karanja Gathoni, alias Wakili, around Multi-Media University area in the outskirts of Nairobi as he headed towards Ongata Rongai. The man has been linked to the murder.

Detectives believe Sang holds the key to the motive of the murder linked to the long-standing family land dispute that is subject of a civil case at Machakos Law Courts.

Police Constable Elijah Kibelion Kimoi, who allegedly pulled the trigger that ended the life of Dr Mutiso, was arrested one week after the incident. Kimoi who was attached to Karinde Police Post has since been arraigned in court.

In court as well in connection with the murder is Ms Mbithe Mulwa alongside her two children Chris Mulwa and Angela Mulwa. Before her death, Mbithe and her two children, both lawyers, had been fighting to evict Dr Mutiso from the Mlolongo land worth hundreds of millions of shillings.

"Through the interrogation of key witnesses and a detailed analysis of evidence, particulars of which cannot be fully disclosed at this stage due to the matter being before the court, investigators have established that the killing of the victim was driven by a long-standing land dispute culminating in Civil Suit No. ELC/E111/2025 filed by Rose Mbithe Mulwa at the Machakos Law Courts," said Amin.