Lawyer Chris Mulwa and mother Rose Mbithe Ndetei in court after their arrest in psychologist Dr Victoria Mutiso’s murder probe. [David Gichuru, Standard]
The brutal assassination of prominent Nairobi lawyer Mathew Kyalo Mbobu on September 9, 2025, and the targeted killing of clinical psychologist Dr Victoria Mutiso on July 29, 2026, are two murders linked by a common thread, a bitter divorce, a defamation case, and a property dispute that has left investigators piecing together a narrative of revenge and bloodshed.
At the heart of this saga is Rose Mbithe Ndetei, now known as Rose Mbithe Mulwa, the former wife of Professor David Musyimi Ndetei. The couple divorced in 2001, and what followed was an acrimonious legal battle over matrimonial property that would set off a chain of events culminating in two deaths.
During the divorce proceedings, Professor Ndetei was represented by advocate Mathew Kyalo Mbobu, a respected lawyer of over 17 years standing, who also lectured at the University of Nairobi's Faculty of Law. Rose, represented by her own lawyer Chris Mutuku, grew frustrated with the delays in her matrimonial property case.
On February 24, 2003, she wrote a blistering letter to the Law Society of Kenya, copied to the Chief Justice, the Minister for Justice, the Kenya Human Rights Commission, and the Federation of Women Lawyers. In it, she accused Mbobu of unprofessional and unbecoming behaviour and claimed delays were purely out of malice. The Law Society of Kenya investigated and dismissed the complaint, advising Rose to allow the matter to run to its natural conclusion.
