Deceased lawyer Kyalo Mbobu /HANDOUTThe third suspect detained on the murder of lawyer Mathew Kyalo Mbobu was found in police custody.
Detectives had been looking for Noah Kipkirui Langat, a boda boda rider for hours before they narrowed down to Pangani police station.
Langat had earlier on Thursday been detained by traffic police and locked up at the cells over an offence he committed.
He did not know he was wanted for the murder of the lawyer.
It was until late in the evening when a team rushed to the station to check if Langat was “hiding” there. A police officer checked details on the Occurance Book and acknowledged he was a suspect in the cells.
The police commander was then asked to release him on bond as the other team waited for him outside and pounced on him the moment he was freed.
Langat is a boda boda rider suspected of conducting surveillance on Mbobu before he was fatally shot on Magadi Road on September 9, 2025.
His arrest followed those of constable Julius Cheruiyot, suspected of being the gunman, and Nicholas Lemiso Naula, the boda boda rider suspected of ferrying him to and from the scene.
With three suspects now in custody, detectives are intensifying the hunt for other persons suspected to have played a role in the meticulously planned killing.
This brings to three, the number of suspects in custody over murder of the lawyer.
Mbobu was trailed and shot dead in his car as he drove to his Bogani residence in Karen.
Officials said the arrest came after some of the suspects arrested in the murder of psychologist Dr Victoria Mutiso confided to the detectives on the role played by the constable of police attached to Nairobi Area command.
Without the constable’s knowledge, the detectives who have been handling the murder picked his official pistol that he had been issued with on the day Mbobu was murdered and sent it for ballistic tests.
On Thursday, the tests turned positive. This prompted police to arrest Cheruiyot over the murder.
Mbobu, a former chairman of Political Parties Disputes Tribunal was shot and killed on September 9, 2025 at about 5.30 pm.
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 subcounty, 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 LR. 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 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 murder of Mbobu.
He said following an intensive and painstaking investigation over the past year, detectives identified and arrested Police Constable Julius Cheruiyot of Nairobi Area, 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 Inspector Kenneth Sang, 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, undertaking extensive investigations to reconstruct the events surrounding the killing.
They will be presented in court pending further investigations.
In the murder of Dr Mutiso, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) approved the prosecution of another suspect Kimutai Maritim for her murder, bringing to five the number of suspects set to face murder charges in the case.
Maritim will be charged alongside Rose Mbithe, her daughter Angela Mulwa, her son Chris Mulwa and Police Constable Elijah Kibelion Kimoi.
The five are expected to appear before the High Court on September 29, 2026, for plea-taking following a directive by Justice Alexander Muteti
Maritim was arrested on August 22 after he allegedly attempted to visit suspects being held at Pangani Police Station.
He was reportedly intercepted while trying to deliver a loaf of bread and a packet of milk to the detainees.
During previous court proceedings, investigators told the court that Maritim was allegedly linked to the planning of the offence and could assist detectives in tracing other suspects who remain at large.
The prosecution has also told the court that three other suspects arrested in connection with the murder are expected to return to court on October 1.
They are Police Constable Collins Bett Kilangat,
Pius Muiruri Mbugua and Samuel Karanja Gathoni, who have been detained for 30
days to allow investigators to complete their inquiries.
