A mother and her two children have been detained in police custody for 21 days over the murder of one of Kenya’s top mental medics, Dr Victoria Mutiso.
Milimani Principal Magistrate Geoffrey Onsarigo allowed police to keep Rose Mbithe and her son Chris Mulwa (a practicing advocate of the High Court) at Kileleshwa and Kilimani Police stations respectively, to enable police to conduct and finalise their investigation.
“There is compelling evidence to warrant the detention of the suspects in custody to enable homicide detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to complete investigations before the DPP files a formal murder charge,” the magistrate told the court.
Mulwa will be detained at Kilimani police station while his mother, 75-year-old and 2027 presidential hopeful candidate, will be detained at Kileleshwa Police station.
At the same time, Mavoko Law Courts in Machakos county has detained advocate Angella Mulwa, a second child of Rose Mbithe, in custody until Tuesday (August 4, 2026) to determine whether she will be equally kept for 21 days like her mother and brother.
“I have considered the submissions of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and established that there is apprehension that the suspects will interfere with prosecution intended witnesses,” ruled the magistrate.
The magistrate also stated that the matter has elicited great public interest and has caused a lot of apprehension.
The magistrate also rejected the defense lawyers' submissions that the suspects need to be released on bond pending completion of the investigations as “they are not flight risk and cannot interfere will witnesses whom they don’t know.”
Defense lawyers Katunga Mbuvi, Danston Omari and Shadrack Wambui, had urged the court to consider that already the suspects have spent 36 hours in custody, in contravention and in violation of Article 49 of of the Constitution.
So far, police have arrested Rose Mbithe and two of her children who are lawyers, over the fatal shooting of Dr Victoria Nthunya Mutiso on July 29, 2026.
The magistrate observed before the fateful day, the deceased had reported two instances on July 7, 2026, and the July 27, 2026, on threats to her life.
On Friday last week, the DPP through a prosecuting counsel Naomi Wanjiku, had prayed to have Rose Mbithe and her son Chris to be detained for 30 days to allow for the completion of investigations.
Asking the court to release Rose, lawyer Omari said she is an independent presidential candidate who during the last election, vied for Machakos Gubernatorial seat alongside the sitting governor Ms Wavinya Ndeti.
Ms Mulwa was defeated by Ms Ndeti with a margin 222,185 to be placed number five in the hotly contested seat.
Dr Mutiso was being driven in a taxi within Upper Hill in Kilimani sub-county, Nairobi.
“Dr Mutiso was murdered on July 29, 2026, within Upper Hill in Nairobi after being trailed and shot at by unknown gunmen while she was riding a Uber registration number KDJ 609D,” a prosecuting counsel told the magistrate.
Mavoko Court on Monday detained lawyer Angella Mulwa Pending ruling on Tuesday on 21-day custodial request.
A Mavoko court ordered advocate Angella Mulwa and her co-respondent to remain in police custody pending a ruling on whether detectives should be granted 21 days to complete investigations into the murder of Dr Victoria Mutiso.
The DCI moved the court through a miscellaneous application seeking custodial orders, arguing that investigators require additional time to conclude inquiries before forwarding the case file to the DPP for further directions.
According to the prosecution, the investigation stems from a report lodged at Mlolongo Police Station on May 4, 2026, after the late Dr Mutiso, during her lifetime, complained that several of her properties had been stolen while others were destroyed during an eviction carried out on February 12, 2026.
Investigators told the court that one of the vehicles reported stolen was later recovered at premises allegedly occupied by Angella Mulwa and another respondent identified as Masika. Police further stated that several other vehicles allegedly taken during the eviction have not yet been traced.
The DCI said detectives are also seeking to establish the relationship between Mulwa, Masika, and Rose Mbithe, who is separately under investigation over the alleged destruction of property.
The prosecution maintained that the complexity of the investigations and the seriousness of the alleged offence justify the request for a 21-day detention period.
The application was strongly opposed by defence counsel Cliff Ombeta, who argued that the dispute arose from a land matter in which lawful eviction orders had been issued by a court and executed under police supervision.
He told the court that the property where the eviction took place belonged to Rose Mbithe and not to either the deceased or the complainant, Ndetei.
Ombeta further submitted that investigators had already confiscated the respondents' mobile phones and could access 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, arguing that they should not be detained to facilitate investigations.
The senior advocate also informed the court that Angella Mulwa has practised as an advocate of the High Court of Kenya for 26 years.
The case will be mentioned for further directions on August 25, 2026.
