Police face crime links as DCI arrest Dr Mutiso murder suspects

The killing of former African Institute of Mental and Brain Health director Dr Victoria Nthunya Mutiso has thrust alleged police involvement in serious crime back into the spotlight, amid claims that serving officers may have played a role in the carefully planned murder.

Addressing the media yesterday, Director of Criminal Investigations Mohamed Amin said detectives investigating the July 29, 2026 killing had identified several persons of interest, including serving police officers allegedly linked to the organisation, financing and execution of the operation.

According to the DCI, one serving officer allegedly acted as a link between the financiers and the operational team and is suspected of providing the firearm used in the killing. The officer is reportedly still at large.

Another officer has been arrested and is alleged to have fired the fatal shots, while a third officer has been linked to the scene and is also reported to be on the run.

The DCI said ballistic tests had positively identified a Mini Jericho pistol recovered from a police armoury as the weapon used to kill Dr Mutiso.

Investigators have linked the suspected motive to a longstanding land dispute involving property in Mlolongo, Athi River, and said two alleged organisers and financiers were being held as investigations continued.

But the police account has triggered fresh accusations of a possible cover-up.

Former Deputy President and Democracy for Citizens Party leader Rigathi Gachagua accused the DCI of attempting to shield officers allegedly involved in Dr Mutiso’s killing and warned that he would expose their identities if investigators failed to disclose them.

Gachagua alleged that three police officers were involved, naming an inspector and a constable from Kikuyu Police Station and another constable attached to Karinde Police Post.

“Good officers have given me all the details and your days of covering up killings by police officers must come to an end,” Gachagua said in a social media post.

He also challenged the DCI to allow officers from a Nairobi “killer squad” allegedly transferred out of the city to speak publicly about who had been instructing them and why they were being victimised.

The allegations come against a wider backdrop of cases in which serving officers have been accused of crossing the line from law enforcement into criminal activity.

Recently, Inspector Kelvin Mwangi Muraguri, a Deputy Officer Commanding Station at Drive In Police Post, was charged alongside Stephen Okello Obewa over the alleged kidnapping and robbery of a Tanzanian national, Kanuti Konrad.

Konrad and his wife were allegedly ambushed while delivering an online order before he was handcuffed and forced into a vehicle. His abductors allegedly demanded Sh1 million after he initially paid Sh17,000.

Police arrested the suspects after Konrad alerted a bank teller at Githurai 44. Muraguri was subsequently said to have implicated other officers allegedly linked to the syndicate.

The case, however, took a dramatic turn after the complainants reportedly withdrew the complaint following an out-of-court agreement.

The case has renewed concerns over whether a culture of silence within the police service allows officers accused of serious crimes to escape accountability.

Other cases have reinforced the concerns. In July, a DCI officer attached to the Anti-Narcotics Unit was arraigned in Limuru over an alleged Sh60 million robbery involving kidnapped employees transporting company money.

Police officers have also previously been arrested alongside civilians over alleged theft of public or private funds.

The allegations extend beyond criminal syndicates to police custody, where deaths and claims of torture continue to raise questions over accountability.

The death of 19-year-old Erick Otieno after detention at Muthaiga Police Station has triggered demands for investigations by oversight bodies, with the family seeking CCTV footage and medical records.

The Law Society of Kenya has called for urgent intervention by IPOA, KNCHR and the Internal Affairs Unit.