Politician Rose Mbithe Mulwa, her two children and two police constables have pleaded not guilty to the murder of prominent city lawyer Mathew Kyalo Mbobu, as the prosecution prepares to oppose their release on bond.
The five accused persons appeared before Lady Justice Diana Kavedza at the Kibera High Court, where they denied the murder charge relating to the killing of Mbobu, an advocate of the High Court, university lecturer and author.
According to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), the accused persons are Rose Mbithe Mulwa, her children Chris Mulwa and Angela Mulwa, and police constables Julius Kipkoech Cheruiyot and Kennedy Kipkemoi Borboroi.
In a statement on Tuesday, the ODPP said the five had been charged over the lawyer’s death, which occurred on September 9, 2025.
“The particulars of the charge allege that on 9th September 2025, at approximately 7:30 p.m., along Magadi Road in Karen, within Lang’ata Sub-County, Nairobi, the five accused persons, jointly with others not before the court, murdered Mathew Kyalo Mbobu,” the ODPP said.
The accused persons denied the allegations, and the charges remain unproven.
The prosecution will be required to establish its case in court.
The court directed the prosecution to file an affidavit opposing the accused persons’ release on bond and scheduled November 24, 2026, for the hearing of the bond application.
The bond proceedings will determine whether the accused persons will be released as the case progresses or remain in custody pending further court directions.
The case marks a second murder prosecution involving Rose Mbithe Mulwa and her two children, who are also facing charges in connection with the murder of Dr Victoria Mutiso.
The latest charges add to the legal proceedings against the politician and her children, with the prosecution pursuing separate murder allegations in the two cases.
However, the charges in both cases must be determined through the judicial process, and the accused persons are entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty.
The ODPP also indicated that the investigation into Mbobu’s killing could involve another police officer, Police Inspector Kenneth Sang.
According to the prosecution, it intends to charge Sang in connection with the murder. He was arrested in Eldoret and subsequently presented before the Milimani Law Courts on Monday.
The court authorised his continued detention for 14 days to allow the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to complete its investigations.
Sang’s detention is intended to facilitate the ongoing investigations, with the prosecution yet to bring the proposed charge before the court, according to the ODPP.
Mbobu’s killing on Magadi Road in Karen on the evening of September 9, 2025 forms the basis of the murder charge against the five accused persons.
The prosecution alleges that they acted jointly with other individuals who have not been presented before the court. The charge does not, however, establish guilt, which must be determined through evidence presented during the trial.
The involvement of serving police constables among the accused has also brought police officers into the proceedings surrounding the lawyer’s death.
Meanwhile, the proposed prosecution of Inspector Sang signals that investigators are continuing to pursue additional leads in the case.
The DCI has been granted time to complete investigations relating to Sang, while the five accused persons await the hearing of their bond application.
The court proceedings will determine the next steps in the case, including whether the accused persons will be released on bond as the prosecution prepares to present its evidence.
For now, all five accused persons have pleaded not guilty to Mbobu’s murder, and the case remains before the Kibera High Court.