DCI Breakthrough: Police Constable Arrested Over Lawyer Mathew Kyalo Mbobu Murder as Detectives Link Case to Dr Victoria Mutiso Killing
By Milton Were The Directorate of Criminal Investigations has announced a major breakthrough in the murder investigation of prominent Nairobi lawyer Mathew Kyalo Mbobu , identifying and arresting a serving police officer suspected of being the gunman who fatally shot the advocate along Magadi Road more than a year ago. In a press statement dated September 24, 2026 , the DCI named the arrested officer as Police Constable Julius Cheruiyot , saying detectives had identified him following what the agency described as an intensive investigation into Mbobu's September 9, 2025 killing. The development represents one of the most significant turns in a murder that has remained under intense public scrutiny for more than a year. Earlier this month, Mbobu's family marked the first anniversary of his death while publicly appealing for answers about who killed him and why. According to the DCI statement, investigators have also recovered a Ceska pistol that had allegedly been issued to Cheruiyot at the time of the killing. The agency says subsequent ballistic examination linked the firearm to the shooting that killed Mbobu. The allegations against Cheruiyot have not yet been tested at trial. The DCI said the officer remains in custody undergoing processing ahead of arraignment. DCI Says Ballistics Linked Police Firearm to Mbobu Shooting Mbobu was shot dead on September 9, 2025, while driving home from work along Magadi Road in Nairobi. Earlier information presented to Parliament stated that he was attacked near Brookhouse International School by two assailants travelling on a motorcycle. Parliament was told in April 2026 that Mbobu was driving slowly because of heavy traffic caused by construction and diversions when the attackers struck. He was shot multiple times, and investigators recovered spent cartridges from the scene as well as bullet fragments during the post-mortem examination. Those exhibits were subsequently submitted to the DCI Forensic Laboratory for ballistic examination. The latest DCI statement says investigators have now recovered the Ceska pistol issued to Cheruiyot and that ballistic examination confirmed the firearm was used in the fatal shooting. If sustained through the criminal justice process, that forensic development could prove critical because it potentially moves the investigation from attempting to reconstruct the attack to linking a specific firearm and the officer to whom police say it had been issued—to the murder. However, the arrest does not amount to a conviction, and the officer is entitled to due process and the presumption of innocence. Inspector Kenneth Sang Now Wanted The DCI has also introduced another serving police officer into the investigation, naming Inspector Kenneth Sang as a suspect who is currently at large. According to the agency, detectives allege that Sang coordinated the operation in liaison with Rose Mbithe , who is already in police custody in connection with the separate murder of Dr Victoria Nthunya Mutiso . The DCI statement does not establish Sang's guilt, and the allegation that he coordinated the operation remains subject to investigation and any subsequent court proceedings. What makes the development particularly significant is the emerging investigative connection between two high-profile killings that occurred almost a year apart. Dr Mutiso was fatally shot on July 29, 2026 , in Nairobi's Upper Hill area. In August, DCI Director Mohamed Amin publicly confirmed that investigators were examining whether suspects linked to Mutiso's killing could also have been involved in Mbobu's murder. At that stage, investigators had not publicly announced the breakthrough now contained in the September 24 statement. Rose Mbithe Link Deepens Two-Murder Investigation The reference to Rose Mbithe significantly deepens the apparent connection between the two investigations. Reporting on the Mutiso case has previously identified Mbithe as the former wife of Prof David Musyimi Ndetei , Dr Mutiso's husband. Investigators have been examining a complicated background involving a long-running matrimonial property dispute and litigation. Mbobu had acted as an advocate for Ndetei in aspects of the legal disputes. ( The Standard ) The DCI had already publicly acknowledged in August that detectives were examining whether suspects involved in Mutiso's murder could have links to Mbobu's killing. Amin said investigators were pursuing several leads but declined at the time to disclose details that could compromise the investigation. The September 24 statement goes substantially further. Detectives are now alleging that Inspector Sang coordinated the Mbobu operation in liaison with Mbithe, while Cheruiyot is suspected of being the gunman. These remain police allegations rather than judicial findings, but they provide the clearest official account yet of the direction investigators believe the Mbobu case has taken. A Murder That Shocked Kenya's Legal Fraternity Mbobu's assassination sent shockwaves through Kenya's legal community. The prominent advocate, former University of Nairobi lecturer and former chairman of the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal was travelling home when gunmen attacked his vehicle on Magadi Road. The killing appeared targeted from the outset. Parliamentary records show investigators retrieved CCTV footage from locations including the area around Mbobu's office and Brookhouse International School while interviewing members of staff from Kyalo & Associates Advocates and other witnesses. For months, however, there was no publicly announced arrest directly identifying the alleged shooter. As the first anniversary approached, Mbobu's family continued demanding answers. At a memorial held on September 9, 2026, relatives and friends gathered at the family's Mua Hills home, with family members urging investigative agencies to establish who was behind the killing and what motivated it. The family's attention had also increasingly turned toward developments in the Mutiso investigation as speculation grew that the two murders could be connected. The DCI's latest announcement now provides the strongest official indication yet that detectives believe such a connection exists. Investigation Now Turns to Who Ordered the Killing Despite the arrest, the Mbobu investigation is far from over. The DCI says detectives are pursuing additional leads to establish what it describes as the full circumstances, motive, planning and execution of the murder. That means the investigation is no longer concerned only with identifying the person suspected of pulling the trigger. Detectives are also seeking to establish whether other people participated in planning, facilitating or commissioning the killing. The agency said it would pursue suspects regardless of their position or affiliation. This aspect could prove particularly consequential because the identification of an alleged gunman answers only one part of a targeted-murder investigation. Detectives must still establish the chain of events leading to the attack, the alleged participants, their respective roles and, crucially, the motive. The alleged involvement of serving police officers will also place additional scrutiny on the investigation. One officer is now in custody while another has been publicly identified by the DCI as being at large. For Mbobu's family, the announcement represents a significant development after more than a year of waiting, but the ultimate answers will depend on what investigators establish and what evidence prosecutors eventually place before the courts. The DCI has also extended condolences to the families of both Mbobu and Dr Mutiso and says investigations into the two killings remain active. The emerging picture is therefore bigger than a single arrest. Detectives are now pursuing what they allege may have been a coordinated operation involving multiple actors, while simultaneously examining the relationship between two targeted killings separated by almost 11 months . With Police Constable Julius Cheruiyot under arrest, Inspector Kenneth Sang being sought and Rose Mbithe already in custody in connection with the Mutiso case, attention will now shift to the courts—and to the unanswered question that has haunted the Mbobu family since September 2025: who ultimately ordered the lawyer's killing, and why?