The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has arrested a police officer suspected of being the gunman who fatally shot prominent lawyer Mathew Kyalo Mbobu in Nairobi.
The arrest marks a major development in the investigation into Mbobu’s murder, which occurred on September 9, 2025, along Magadi Road.
Detectives arrested the officer, identified as Police Constable Julius Cheruiyot, after pursuing fresh leads in the case.
In a statement issued on Thursday, September 24, 2026, the DCI said investigators had established a link between Cheruiyot and the firearm believed to have been used in the fatal shooting.
Detectives also recovered a Ceska pistol that had reportedly been issued to Cheruiyot at the time of the incident.
According to the DCI, ballistic examination of the firearm established that it was used in the shooting that claimed Mbobu’s life.
Mbobu was attacked while travelling along Magadi Road on September 9, 2025. Investigations presented to Parliament earlier this year indicated that two assailants riding a motorcycle accosted him before one of them opened fire. He was fatally shot during the attack.
The latest arrest comes weeks after former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua made claims that two police officers were involved in Mbobu’s killing.
Gachagua also linked the alleged involvement of the officers to a Sh2 billion land dispute in Mavoko, Machakos County.
His allegations came at a time when investigators were already examining possible connections between Mbobu’s murder and the killing of clinical psychologist Dr Victoria Nthunya Mutiso.
The DCI has previously confirmed that detectives were investigating whether people suspected in Mutiso’s murder could also have been connected to the shooting of Mbobu.
DCI Director Mohamed Amin said investigators were pursuing the possible connection while examining several leads in the Mutiso murder investigation.
The investigation into Mutiso’s killing has also drawn attention to a long-running property dispute in Mlolongo.
According to investigators, Mutiso had placed a caveat on a disputed parcel of land, and detectives were examining whether the property dispute could have provided a motive for her killing.
Investigators have also been examining allegations involving Rose Mbithe Ndetei, now known as Rose Mbithe Mulwa, and her daughter, advocate Angela Mulwa, in connection with the wider investigation surrounding Mutiso’s death.
The circumstances surrounding those allegations remain part of the ongoing criminal investigation and should not be treated as established findings of guilt.
The possible connection between the two killings has nevertheless become a significant part of the investigation.
Mbobu, a prominent lawyer and former chairperson of the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal, was shot dead while driving home from work. An autopsy later established that he had sustained eight gunshot wounds.
For nearly a year, the killing remained without a publicly confirmed suspect, with Mbobu’s family repeatedly calling for investigators to establish who was behind the attack and why he was targeted.
The latest development now puts a serving police officer at the centre of the investigation.
The recovery and ballistic examination of the firearm could provide detectives with important forensic evidence as they continue working to establish the circumstances surrounding the killing.
The DCI has not said the arrest ends the investigation. Instead, detectives are expected to continue examining the alleged roles of other individuals who may have been involved.
The investigation will also be closely watched because of the possible connection being examined between Mbobu’s killing and the murder of Dr Mutiso.
For now, Cheruiyot remains a suspect, and the allegations against him will be subject to the criminal justice process.
The arrest, however, represents a significant new development in a case that has remained unresolved since Mbobu was gunned down along Magadi Road in September 2025.
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