Four suspects in lawyer Kyalo Mbobu's murder to be detained for 15 more days

 

Kyalo Mbobu, an advocate of the High Court and a renowned city lawyer was fatally shot on September 9, 2025. [File, Standard]

Four suspects, including two police officers and two boda boda riders, linked to the murder of lawyer Mathew Kyalo Mbobu will remain in custody for another 15 days as detectives complete investigations.

Milimani Chief Magistrate Githu Kibiru ordered police officers Julias Cheruiyot and Kennedy Kipkemei and boda boda riders Nicholas Naula Lemiso and Noah Kipkurui Langat to remain in custody.

The magistrate issued the orders after the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the Director of Public Prosecutions sought permission to detain the four for a further 30 days.

Kibiru, however, found that 15 days would be sufficient for detectives to conclude the outstanding investigations.

“The suspects before court have not opposed to the state application; their concerns is the period which is being sought by the prosecution,” the magistrate said.

He added: “The investigation officer has explained the extent of investigations has taken. However, I find the period of 15 days is sufficient for the prosecution to conclude whatever investigations that are pending.”

The court ordered that Cheruiyot be held at Gigiri Police Station, Kipkemei at Parklands Police Station, Lemiso at Kibera Police Station and Langat at Muthangari Police Station.

The four were also granted access to lawyers of their choice.

While seeking the custodial orders, investigating officer Patrick Wachira told the court that preliminary investigations had established the alleged roles played by each suspect in the killing.

According to Wachira’s affidavit, Cheruiyot, a police officer attached to Pangani Police Station, is alleged to have fired the fatal shot.

Lemiso, a boda boda rider, is alleged to have ferried Cheruiyot to the scene on a motorcycle, while Langat allegedly trailed Mbobu’s vehicle from his office.

Kipkemei, also a police officer, is alleged to have participated in planning the killing.

Wachira told the court that Mbobu was fatally shot at about 6pm on September 9, 2025, while driving his white Toyota Land Cruiser registration number KCA 177W near Brookhouse International School.

“Mathew Kyalo Mbobu, an advocate of the High Court and a renowned city lawyer practising at Kyalo and Associates firm based in a townhouse within the CBD, was fatally shot on the 9th of September 2025 at around 1800hrs near Brookhouse International School,” Wachira told the court.

The investigating officer said members of the public alerted officers from Karen and Lang’ata police stations after the shooting, before the incident was formally reported at Lang’ata Police Station.

Detectives from DCI Lang’ata and Karen, together with scenes-of-crime officers from the Nairobi Region, secured and documented the scene and recovered bullet fragments.

“A search of Mbobu’s vehicle also yielded one spent cartridge, three bullet fragments and two bullet heads, which were submitted for ballistic analysis under laboratory reference number 506/2025,” Wachira said.

The court further heard that a firearm recovered during the investigations was subjected to ballistic examination. Wachira said the report allegedly linked cartridge cases and a bullet head recovered during the investigations to the firearm.

The firearm, the court heard, had been issued to Cheruiyot, who was stationed at Pangani Police Station.

The DCI also told the court that investigations had linked other suspects to the killing, including Rose Mbithe, who is being held at Lang’ata Women’s Prison. Other alleged accomplices are still at large.

The investigating officer said detectives were also pursuing a possible motive linked to a land dispute in which Mbobu had represented the family of Professor David Musyimi Ndetei before the Machakos Law Courts.

An autopsy established that Mbobu died from multiple bullet wounds, the court heard.

During the proceedings, the four suspects, who were not represented by lawyers, did not oppose continued detention but challenged the 30-day period sought by the prosecution.

Cheruiyot denied involvement in Mbobu’s killing but did not oppose the prosecution’s request for continued detention.

Kipkemei also denied being linked to the killing and questioned the period sought by the prosecution.

“The allegations are not true. The investigation into this matter by the prosecution has taken over one year,” Kipkemei told the court.

He further complained that he had not been allowed access to his mobile phones since his arrest.

“Since I was arrested, I have not been given access to my mobile phones,” he said.

The matter will be mentioned on October 9 for further directions.