Female presidential aspirant Rose Mbithe Mulwa alias Rose Mbithe Ndetei and her son, advocate Chris Mulwa, have been detained for 21 days at Kilimani and Kileleshwa police stations respectively as police investigate the murder of Dr Victoria Mutiso.
The two were arraigned before Principal Magistrate Geoffrey Onsarigo after the prosecution sought 30 days to complete investigations into the killing.
Dr Mutiso, the former Director of the African Institute of Mental and Brain Health, was shot dead in broad daylight in Upper Hill, Nairobi, on July 29, 2026, by gunmen riding on a motorcycle while she was travelling to work in an Uber.
According to an affidavit sworn by Corporal Romana Oduor, preliminary investigations have linked the two suspects to the murder.
The court heard that Dr Mutiso had previously reported being trailed by unknown men riding a motorcycle, one of whom allegedly brandished a firearm at her during a traffic stop.
She managed to escape and reported the incident to the police and her husband.
The prosecution alleges that on July 7, Dr Mutiso identified Chris Mulwa as the pillion passenger on the motorcycle that had been trailing her.
Rose Mbithe is the former wife of Dr Mutiso’s husband, with whom she has four children. The two divorced in 2001.
The prosecution further told the court that there is a long-running property dispute between the respondents and Dr Mutiso’s family.
According to Corporal Oduor, Rose had filed a civil suit at the Machakos Law Courts, registered as MCELC/E111/2025, concerning property referenced as LR No. 1504/13 in Mlolongo Weighbridge, Athi River Sub-County. Dr Mutiso was listed as the third defendant in the case.
The matter is also under investigation by the DCI Mlolongo under Inquiry No. 14/2026.
The court heard that the dispute resulted in the eviction and demolition of properties belonging to Dr Mutiso’s family on the contested parcel.
“Shortly after the eviction and the demolition of the deceased’s family properties, she started to receive threats to her life whereby she would constantly be trailed by unknown men riding on motor bikes while she was driving,” Corporal Oduor stated in the affidavit.
The prosecution also linked the property dispute to the killing of the late lawyer Kyalo Mbombu, who represented Dr Mutiso’s family in the dispute and was allegedly shot in a similar manner while driving home.
Investigators told the court they require more time to analyze CCTV footage recovered during the probe, while the respondents’ call data records are still undergoing forensic analysis.
The prosecution further expressed concern that releasing the suspects at this stage could allow them to abscond, interfere with investigations or tamper with witnesses.
However, lawyers representing the two, opposed the application for prolonged detention and urged the court to release their clients on bail.
The defence argued that the two are not flight risks, noting that they have a permanent home in Karen, Nairobi.
The lawyers also argued that their clients could not interfere with witnesses because they had not been given a list of witnesses in the case.
The defence further told the court that the two suspects had allegedly been assaulted while in police custody, arguing that it would therefore be unfair to return them to the same police officers.
Mbithe, who is 75, was a gubernatorial aspirant for Machakos County in the 2022 General Election and is now seeking to run for president in the 2027 General Election.
The court directed that Rose be held at Kileleshwa Police Station while Chris is detained at Kilimani Police Station pending completion of investigations.
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