Murder of Dr. Victoria Mutiso: Lawyer Angela Mulwa, co-accused held as DCI seeks 21-day detention

City lawyer Angela Mulwa and her co-accused, Nelson Masiga, will remain in police custody until tomorrow, Tuesday, August 4, 2026 at 2 p.m. after the Mavoko Law Courts deferred its ruling on an application by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) seeking to detain them for 21 days to complete investigations linked to the killing of psychiatrist Dr. Victoria Nthunya Mutiso.

Principal Magistrate Lilian Nyabando directed that the two remain in custody pending the ruling on the DCI’s miscellaneous application, in which detectives argue they require more time before forwarding the investigation file to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) for legal advice.

Mulwa and Masiga become the third and fourth suspects arrested in connection with the murder. Earlier on Monday, another court granted detectives 21 days to detain Chris Mulwa and his mother, Rose Mbithe Mulwa, to facilitate ongoing investigations.

The prosecution told the court that the investigations stem from a complaint lodged at Mlolongo Police Station on May 4, 2026, after Dr. Mutiso reported that several of her properties had allegedly been stolen and others destroyed during an eviction carried out on February 12, 2026.

According to the investigating officer, detectives later recovered one of the vehicles reported stolen at premises allegedly linked to the two respondents.

“I managed to recover at the premises of one Angela Mulwa, the first respondent, while they were in possession of the vehicle together with the second respondent,” the investigating officer told the court.

Police said several other vehicles allegedly taken during the eviction remain unaccounted for.

The investigating officer further submitted that the inquiry extends beyond the alleged theft of property and is closely intertwined with the homicide investigation into Dr. Mutiso’s fatal shooting in Nairobi last week.

“The matter is intertwined with another involving the fatal injuries sustained by one of my complainants… we seek 21 days’ custodial orders because if they are out, they will be able to interfere with the leads and information we are exploiting,” the officer told the court.

The prosecution said detectives are still analysing CCTV footage, call data records, electronic messages and other forensic evidence while tracing the ownership and movement of several vehicles believed to be linked to the killing.

“We need time so that first we are able to extract crucial information, especially all data and messages, so that we can actually connect the suspects who are before this court with the suspect in the other matter and get to the root cause of this matter,” the prosecutor submitted.

State counsel further argued that the investigations had attracted significant public interest and warned that releasing the suspects could jeopardise the inquiry.

“There is a very high likelihood that they are going to tamper with our witnesses or tamper with any of the leads that we intend to use,” the prosecution argued.

Detectives also told the court they are seeking to establish the relationship between Mulwa, Masiga and Rose Mbithe Mulwa, who is separately under investigation over the alleged destruction of property.

The application was strongly opposed by senior defence counsel Cliff Ombeta, who argued that the dispute arose from a land matter in which lawful eviction orders had been issued by a competent court and executed under police supervision.

Ombeta told the court that the property where the eviction took place belonged to Rose Mbithe and not to either the deceased or the complainant, Prof. David Ndetei.

He further argued that investigators had already seized the respondents’ mobile phones and could obtain any additional information through court orders, making continued detention unnecessary.

He also noted that the respondents were arrested on August 1, 2026 nearly six months after the eviction, saying there was no justification for holding them to facilitate investigations. Ombeta added that Mulwa has practised as an advocate of the High Court for 26 years.

Defence lawyer Danstan Omari described the application as an abuse of the court process, arguing that related proceedings arising from the same dispute are already pending before the Milimani Law Courts. He urged the court to decline jurisdiction and refer the matter to Milimani.

Omari also submitted that Mulwa is the daughter of Prof. Ndetei and argued that her possession of one of the disputed vehicles could not, on its own, amount to evidence of criminal conduct. He urged the court to release both respondents on bond.

In response, the prosecution maintained that a family relationship does not confer a legal right to retain property reported as missing, urging the court to balance the constitutional rights of the suspects with those of the victims.

The detention proceedings come days after the DCI sought 30 days to detain Rose Mbithe Mulwa and Chris Mulwa before the Milimani Chief Magistrate’s Court as detectives pursue investigations into Dr. Mutiso’s murder and alleged land fraud-related offences.

In that application, investigators said they were analysing CCTV footage, ballistic evidence, call data records, forensic exhibits, the post-mortem report and the vehicle Dr. Mutiso was travelling in when she was fatally shot.

Detectives also alleged that the killing may have arisen from a long-running land dispute in Athi River, claiming Dr. Mutiso had previously reported receiving threats following an eviction and demolition on the contested property.

The DCI further told the Milimani court that the suspected gunman and a motorcycle rider believed to have facilitated the killing remain at large and argued that the respondents could interfere with witnesses or assist the suspects in evading arrest if released.