03/08/2026
: HOW DR. VICTORIA MUTISO GOT KILLED IN COLD BLOOD!
Professor David Musyimi Ndetei is one of Kenya’s most accomplished psychiatrists and a pioneer in African mental healthcare. A Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Nairobi and the founding director of the Africa Institute of Mental and Brain Health, he has spent decades expanding access to psychiatric services while leading groundbreaking research on mental and brain disorders across the continent.
He graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) from the University of Nairobi in 1975 before pursuing specialist psychiatric training in London. He later earned a PhD and the prestigious Doctor of Science (DSc), cementing his reputation as one of Africa’s foremost mental health experts.
His former wife, Rose Mbithe Mulwa (formerly Rose Mbithe Ndetei), is a Kenyan businesswoman, philanthropist, and politician. Raised in Iveti, Machakos County, she has remained active in public life through business and charitable work and unsuccessfully contested the Machakos gubernatorial seat in the 2022 General Election, which was won by Wavinya Ndeti.
Their marriage ended in 2001 after 31 years together. An official Gazette Notice published in May 2003 formally reflected Rose Mulwa’s change of name following the divorce.
After the marriage was dissolved, Prof. Ndetei married Dr. Victoria Mutiso, a respected clinical psychologist and mental health researcher. According to court documents filed in recent proceedings, the couple had been married for more than two decades and had two children together. Dr. Mutiso was fatally shot in Nairobi’s Upper Hill area on July 29, 2026.
The divorce marked the beginning of a prolonged legal battle over matrimonial property. In 2002, Rose Mulwa instituted proceedings under the Married Women’s Property Act of 1882 through High Court Civil Case No. 6A of 2002, seeking a share of what she argued were matrimonial assets accumulated during the marriage.
Although the courts ultimately ruled against her principal claim for a direct division of the estate, the litigation did not end there. Instead, it gave rise to more than two decades of additional civil disputes, appeals, and competing claims over several properties.
At the center of the conflict was L.R. No. 1504/13, a prime parcel of land measuring more than 20 acres in the Athi River–Mlolongo area of Machakos County. Over the years, rapid urban development and its strategic location near Nairobi and the Mombasa Highway significantly increased the property’s commercial value, making it one of the most fiercely contested assets connected to the former couple.
During the marriage, the land formed part of the family’s property portfolio. Following the divorce, Prof. Ndetei retained ownership of the title and continued developing the property for agricultural and residential use. The parcel subsequently became the subject of several separate commercial and civil cases.
Among them was a lawsuit against Orbit Chemical Industries, in which Prof. Ndetei alleged that industrial discharge had damaged the agricultural productivity of the property. The court ultimately awarded him damages exceeding KSh269 million.
The property also featured in separate financing disputes involving charges registered by financial institutions, including Daima Bank and the Housing Finance Company of Kenya.
Throughout the matrimonial proceedings, the late advocate Mathew Kyalo Mbobu represented Prof. Ndetei. As the litigation became increasingly complex and legal costs accumulated, part of the disputed property was temporarily transferred into the advocate’s name. Rose Mulwa challenged that transfer in court, alleging that it was intended to defeat her matrimonial property claim. Those allegations were disputed, and the legality of the transfer became another subject of litigation.
The dispute later escalated further when Advocate Mbobu filed a defamation suit against Rose Mulwa after she publicly accused him of professional misconduct and collusion over the land transaction. The parties continued litigating the matter for years.
Following subsequent court decisions that largely favored Prof. Ndetei in the matrimonial property proceedings, the property’s title was eventually restored to Prof. Ndetei and Dr. Victoria Mutiso.
The long-running civil dispute took a dramatic turn on September 9, 2025, when Advocate Mathew Kyalo Mbobu was shot and killed along Magadi Road in Karen, Nairobi.
According to investigators, Mbobu was driving home from his Nairobi office when gunmen riding on a motorcycle intercepted his vehicle during evening traffic. Police reported that one of the attackers approached the driver’s side and fired multiple shots at close range before fleeing on the motorcycle. Nothing was stolen from the vehicle, leading investigators to treat the incident as a targeted killing.
A post-mortem examination concluded that Mbobu sustained eight gunshot wounds and died from massive internal bleeding caused by severe injuries to the neck and spinal region.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Homicide Unit assumed responsibility for the investigation and explored several possible motives, including disputes connected to land and financial matters. As of that stage, investigators had not publicly announced any prosecution in connection with the killing.
Meanwhile, the civil litigation over the Athi River property continued. Rose Mulwa later filed fresh proceedings in the Machakos Law Courts naming Dr. Victoria Mutiso among the defendants in an effort to pursue additional claims relating to the disputed property.
Court filings indicate that tensions surrounding the land dispute escalated further in early 2026 after an eviction order was executed at the property. Dr. Mutiso subsequently alleged that the operation exceeded the scope of the court order, claiming that homes were demolished, personal property destroyed, vehicles taken, and attempts made to forcibly remove members of the family. Those allegations became the subject of police complaints and remain matters referenced in ongoing legal proceedings.
Police records further indicate that Dr. Mutiso later complained that attempts to report the incident at Mlolongo Police Station were frustrated before an Occurrence Book entry was eventually recorded several months later.
On the morning of July 29, 2026, Dr. Victoria Mutiso was fatally shot while travelling through Nairobi’s Upper Hill area. According to police investigators, gunmen riding on a motorcycle opened fire after her vehicle was forced to slow in traffic. Detectives stated that no valuables were taken, prompting them to investigate the shooting as a targeted attack.
Since then, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations has informed the court that it is examining whether the killings of Advocate Mathew Kyalo Mbobu and Dr. Victoria Mutiso may be connected. Investigators have presented this as one of the working theories guiding the homicide inquiry, while emphasizing that investigations remain ongoing.
Court documents filed by investigators state that detectives recovered forensic evidence from the Upper Hill crime scene, examined CCTV footage, and traced a vehicle believed to have featured during the attack. Investigators have also told the court that they are analysing mobile phones, electronic devices, financial records, and communication data seized during subsequent searches as part of efforts to identify those responsible.
Following those investigations, Rose Mbithe Mulwa and her son, Chris Mulwa, were arrested on July 30, 2026. They were presented before the Milimani Law Courts the following day.
In an application seeking custodial detention, investigators argued that additional time was required to complete forensic examinations, analyse electronic evidence, trace communications, and pursue other suspects believed to be at large. The prosecution also argued that releasing the suspects could interfere with ongoing investigations.
The court ordered that the two remain in custody pending a ruling on the prosecution’s request for extended detention. The allegations against them remain before the courts, and no finding of guilt has been made.
