A bodaboda rider who facilitated the fatal shooting of Nairobi lawyer Mathew Kyalo Mbobu was Thursday arrested in an operation.
The rider was traced to his house in South B where he had dashed to hours after he learned the police officer he took to the scene of the shooting for the mission had been arrested.
Constable Julius Cheruiyot was Thursday September 24 arrested after it emerged he was the one who pulled the trigger that fell Mbobu.
Detectives handling the probe said they were looking for a third person who was involved in the fatal shooting that happened in September 2025.
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.
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 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 murder of Kyalo.
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, defectives 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 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.
The arrested police officer and the rider remained in custody undergoing processing pending arraignment in court. The DCI further assured the public that investigations remain active, with detectives pursuing additional leads to establish the full circumstances, motive, planning and execution of the murder.
Insiders said the case had frustrated the team handling it. This was after it emerged the cop linked to the same had used his official gun and returned it to the armory. Ironically, the weapon is among those which have not been tested ballistically as required.
This has renewed calls to have all official weapons tested.
Officials said the detectives were interrogating their colleague for information if there were more accomplices involved in the murder of Mbobu.
Witnesses said the killers were on a motorcycle when they struck and escaped the scene.
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