A new investigative team has taken over the murder probe of prominent lawyer Mathew Kyalo Mbobu, releasing three men who had been detained since Thursday night after determining they had no connection to the killing.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations’ Homicide Unit assumed control of the case on Saturday, immediately reviewing statements and evidence collected by Langata DCI officers.
Their analysis led to the swift release of George Wainaina, a Kanu official, Paul Mbugua, Wainaina’s relative, and Eric Gichuhi, a friend of the murdered lawyer.
The trio had been arrested by DCI Operation Support Unit officers after closed-circuit television footage showed they were among the last people to meet with Mbobu before his death.
However, the new investigation team found no grounds to continue their detention.
Wainaina has revealed a startling development in the case, claiming that detectives seized Sh50 million in cash from a safe at his Karen home during his arrest.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, the politician expressed shock at what he termed an “embarrassing” arrest conducted in front of his family.
“They arrested me unprepared; no-one gave me time to even change my clothes. I was thrown into a cold cell at Kileleshwa Police Station,” Wainaina said, adding that his lawyer Musa Maulid is pursuing the matter of the seized money with police.
The circumstances surrounding the men’s final meeting with Mbobu appear innocent.
Wainaina explained he had gone to Sargret Hotel in Nairobi to meet an employee and give them cheques when he encountered Mbobu and Gichuhi leaving the premises.
After exchanging pleasantries, the three parted ways. Gichuhi, who lived in the same Karen neighborhood as Mbobu and had studied with him at the University of Nairobi, said they had met for lunch before the lawyer returned to his office.
Lawyer Maulid has condemned the arrests as “malicious, unjustified, and a reckless abuse of police powers,” pointing out that forensic phone analysis, ballistic examination, and independently verified alibis have all cleared the three men of any involvement in the murder.
Mbobu was gunned down on Tuesday, September 9, by two motorcycle-riding assassins on Magadi Road.
The killers chose their location strategically, striking at a section where overgrown vegetation provides cover and ongoing road construction forces drivers to slow down at a sharp bend.
The homicide investigators are now shifting their focus to the lawyer’s professional dealings, examining the cases and business transactions he was involved in as they hunt for the motive behind his assassination.
The murder has sent shockwaves through Kenya’s legal fraternity, with many questioning the security of legal practitioners who handle sensitive cases.
The investigation continues as police work to identify the motorcycle-riding assailants and determine who ordered the hit on the prominent lawyer.
