Five suspects deny murdering Dr Victoria Mutiso as torture claims rock case

Five suspects charged with the murder of Dr Victoria Mutiso have pleaded not guilty, two months after the doctor was allegedly assassinated in Nairobi’s Upper Hill area.

The suspects—Rose Mbithe, her children Chris Mulwa and Angela Mulwa, Police Constable Elijah Kimoi and Kimutai Maritim today appeared before Justice Alexander Muteti, where they also sought to be released on cash bail.

However, the bail hearing was thrown into fresh controversy after Mbithe and her two children alleged that they had been tortured while in police custody and accused investigators and the prosecution of deliberately prolonging their detention.

Mbithe told the court that she had lost 16 kilogrammes while in custody and claimed she had suffered serious health complications.

“I have lost 16 kilos, my blood pressure has gone to 80, I was tortured. I have been passing urine with blood,” she said.

She further alleged that another suspect had been tortured into implicating her son in the shooting.

Chris Mulwa echoed the allegations, claiming that he, his mother and sister had been denied medical treatment while in custody.

“My mother and my sister, we were tortured…and the DCI intentionally denied us medical treatment,” Mulwa told the court.

He also alleged that investigators threatened to prolong their detention, saying the threats were made in the presence of their lawyer, Cliff Ombeta.

The family said it had lodged complaints with senior government officials, including President William Ruto, the Head of Public Service, the Inspector General of Police and the Law Society of Kenya, raising concerns over their treatment and what they described as bias in the handling of the case.

Angela Mulwa separately accused the prosecution of giving preferential treatment to another suspect, Daniel Mwangi.

“Daniel Mwangi has been receiving preferential treatment from the rest of us suspects. He has not been detained the way the rest are being detained. He was given four days; we are being given 30 days,” she said.

She questioned the prosecution’s request for additional time to respond to the bail application, alleging that continued detention was intended to silence the suspects.

“When I hear counsel Makori say he needs 14 days to respond to an affidavit, I read malice in continued detention to gag us,” Angela said.

Prosecuting counsel Jalson Makori told the court that the allegations could only be addressed by the investigating officer and asked for time to respond.

“Those issues can only be responded to by the investigating officer. We wish to ask for time,” Makori said.

The proceedings took another turn when six lawyers representing the family asked to withdraw from the case, saying they had not been briefed on allegations contained in the bail application and its supporting affidavit.

Ombeta told the court he could no longer continue representing the suspects.

“I am withdrawing from these proceedings. Please strike me off the record. They can get other counsel to be able to proceed with this matter for them,” he said.

Lawyer Samson Nyaberi said the developments had exposed disagreements among the legal team.

“What is emanating now is that we are not in one bandwagon. We are at cross purposes. We are pulling in different directions,” Nyaberi said.

The court allowed the six lawyers to withdraw, with lawyer Joel Mbaluka holding brief as counsel for the family.

In his ruling, Justice Muteti directed the prosecution to respond to the allegations raised by the suspects within three days.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has separately filed an application opposing the suspects’ release on bail.

The court is scheduled to hear the matter on October 6, 2026, when the bail application and the competing submissions are expected to come before the court.