Rider arrested in investigation into Kyalo Mbobu killingThe investigation into the fatal shooting of lawyer Mathew Kyalo Mbobu widened on Thursday after detectives arrested a second suspect as an intelligence-led operation targeting people suspected of being linked to the killing intensified.
Police were also searching for a third suspect on Thursday evening.
According to police, the rider was arrested in Nairobi’s Central Business District following sustained efforts by detectives to trace people suspected of having been involved in the September 9, 2025 killing.
Police said the rider led detectives to his house in South B, where a search was conducted.
The rider is suspected of having ferried a police officer, who had earlier been arrested in connection with the killing, to and from the scene.
His arrest came after that of the police officer, who was arrested following investigations into the killing.
The two were being held as detectives pursued further leads and sought to establish the circumstances surrounding Mbobu’s death.
Police said Mbobu was trailed and shot in his car as he drove to his residence in Bogani, Karen.
Officials said the investigation into Mbobu’s killing was linked to information obtained from some of the suspects arrested in connection with the killing of psychologist Dr Victoria Mutiso.
According to officials, the suspects provided information to detectives about the alleged role of the police officer, who was attached to Nairobi Area.
Officials said detectives later obtained the official pistol that had been issued to the officer on the day Mbobu was killed and submitted it for ballistic examination.
On Thursday, detectives said the ballistic examination linked the firearm to the shooting, prompting the arrest of the officer.
Mbobu, a former chairman of the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal, was shot and killed on September 9, 2025, at about 5.30pm.
Mbobu had represented Dr Mutiso’s husband, Prof David Ndetei, in legal proceedings.
Dr Mutiso, a former director of the African Institute of Mental and Brain Health, was fatally shot on July 29, 2026, in Upper Hill, Kilimani Sub-County, Nairobi, while inside a motor vehicle.
The DCI has also identified a land dispute involving Dr Mutiso as a possible motive for the killing.
Investigators said the deceased was involved in a dispute over L.R. Number 1504/13, which is the subject of a case before the Machakos court.
Investigators also said Dr Mutiso had previously reported that someone had attempted to kill her and that she had been followed before the fatal shooting.
The DCI said that on July 7, 2026, Dr Mutiso reported being confronted by two armed men riding a motorcycle near Junction Mall along Ngong Road in Nairobi.
The men pointed a gun at her, but she managed to escape and later reported the incident at Kilimani Police Station.
On Thursday, Director of Criminal Investigations Mohamed Amin said they had made a breakthrough in the investigation into Mbobu’s killing.
He said that following an intensive and painstaking investigation over the past year, detectives identified and arrested the officer, who is suspected of being the gunman who fatally shot the lawyer.
“As part of the ongoing investigations, detectives today recovered the 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,” he said.
He added that detectives had also established that a police officer who is currently at large allegedly coordinated the operation in liaison with Rose Mbithe, who is already in police custody in connection with the murder of Dr. Mutiso, who was fatally shot on July 29, 2026, in Upper Hill, Nairobi.
The DCI immediately commenced investigations, with specialised teams from the Homicide Directorate working alongside forensic experts to reconstruct the events surrounding the killing.
The arrested police officer remains in custody undergoing processing pending arraignment in court.
