NAIROBI,Kenya Aug 30 – The investigation into the killing of clinical psychologist and mental health researcher Dr Victoria Nthunya Mutiso has taken a new international turn, with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) arresting two suspects in Uganda and a third in Nairobi.
The latest arrests bring investigators closer to unraveling what they describe as a carefully planned operation that culminated in the fatal shooting of Dr Mutiso in Nairobi’s Upper Hill area on July 29, 2026.
The DCI said the suspects were arrested following forensic analysis by a specialised team comprising detectives from the Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau (CRIB), Operations Directorate and Homicide Bureau.
Two of the suspects ,Police Constable Bett Kiplangat Collins, attached to Thogoto Police Station, and civilian Pius Muiru Mbugua were arrested at Kyanja Heights flats in the Nakawa suburb of Kampala, Uganda.
The arrests were carried out with the assistance of the Uganda Police Force.
The DCI said the two suspects had allegedly crossed into Uganda after the murder and were being held at Jinja Road Police Station pending their escorted return to Kenya.
The third suspect, Samuel Karanja Gathoni, alias “Lawyer”, was intercepted earlier in Nairobi’s Langata Multi-Media area as he headed towards Ongata Rongai.
According to the DCI, PC Bett played a surveillance role and served as co-driver to Daniel Mwangi Njoroge, whom investigators have identified as a central organiser of the alleged operation.
Njoroge was allegedly driving a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, registration KDH 600A, which detectives say was used to box in the Uber taxi carrying Dr Mutiso shortly before she was shot.
The DCI said Mbugua allegedly acted as the link between the execution team and the person who contracted them.
“Mbugua served as paymaster, moving money for logistics and the movement of the hit team,” the DCI said.
The agency described the arrests as a significant breakthrough in a case that has attracted intense public attention since Dr Mutiso was gunned down in broad daylight.
“Flight delayed the file. It did not close it,” the DCI said in a pointed reference to the suspects’ alleged flight to Uganda.
Dr Mutiso was killed on the morning of July 29 while travelling to work in an Uber.
According to an account previously given by DCI Director Mohamed Amin, she had requested the ride from Tanga Heights Apartments along Bamburi Road and was travelling to the Africa Institute of Mental and Brain Health offices.
The journey was cut short when the Uber encountered an obstruction in the Mbagathi-Mawenzi area.
Investigators say a black Toyota Prado partially blocked the road, forcing the Uber driver to slow down.
A gunman then opened fire towards the rear of the vehicle, where Dr Mutiso was seated.
The driver sped away and rushed her to Kenyatta National Hospital, but she was pronounced dead shortly afterwards.
A post-mortem examination established that Dr Mutiso died from severe bleeding after sustaining three gunshot wounds.
Investigators recovered spent cartridges from the scene and a bullet head during the post-mortem examination. The exhibits were subjected to ballistic and forensic analysis as detectives reconstructed the attack using CCTV footage, vehicle tracking, digital evidence and intelligence.
The DCI has since described the killing as “meticulously planned” and involving an organised network responsible for surveillance, financing, logistics and execution.
Killing threats
The July 29 shooting came weeks after Dr Mutiso had reported that she was being followed and threatened.
On July 7, she reported an incident in which men on a motorcycle allegedly followed her and pointed a gun at her.
Following the incident, investigators established that she stopped using her personal vehicle and began travelling by taxi.
Three weeks later, she was shot while travelling in an Uber.
The earlier threat has therefore become a significant part of the investigation as detectives seek to establish whether it was connected to the eventual attack.
Land dispute
Investigators have also linked the killing to a longstanding property dispute.
The DCI has said its investigations pointed to a land dispute involving property in Mlolongo, Athi River, with the matter having been the subject of a civil case before the Machakos Law Courts.
Detectives have also examined events surrounding an eviction and demolition at property associated with Dr Mutiso in February.
The alleged motive remains part of the ongoing investigation and will ultimately have to be tested through the court process.
The latest arrests come after detectives had already arrested several people in connection with the killing.
Among those previously detained were police officers and a boda boda rider. Investigators have alleged that different members of the suspected network played roles ranging from surveillance and transportation to the actual shooting.
Three suspects police officer Elijah Kibelion Kimoi, Daniel Njoroge and boda boda rider Kevin Kinuthia were previously granted orders allowing investigators to hold them for 30 days as detectives pursued additional leads.
The case has since widened, with four suspects, including lawyer Angela Mulwa, her mother Rose Mbithe Mulwa, her brother Chris Mulwa and PC Elijah Kibelion Kimoi, facing murder proceedings. The four were ordered to undergo psychiatric assessments before formally taking their pleas.
The developments have seen the investigation move beyond the people allegedly involved at the scene to those suspected of organising and financing the killing.
The DCI now says PC Bett was involved in surveillance and was the co-driver of the Prado allegedly used to obstruct the Uber, while Mbugua allegedly handled payments and logistics.
The latest arrests have also prompted the DCI to respond to claims that suspects in the case had previously been arrested and secretly released or that security officials had helped them escape.
The agency dismissed the claims as false, accusing unnamed political actors of using the case for “cheap political mileage”.
It said the claims were intended to undermine the investigation and portray detectives as accomplices rather than investigators pursuing the killers.
“Yesterday’s arrests, effected in Kampala, are the factual answer to that noise,” the DCI said.
The DCI thanked Dr Mutiso’s family, friends and members of the public for what it described as their patience and support throughout the investigation.
The DCI said the Uganda Police Force had provided professional assistance that enabled the arrests and secure detention of the two suspects in Kampala.
The suspects arrested in Uganda are expected to be escorted back to Kenya, where they will be processed and arraigned in accordance with the law.
The latest arrests are expected to help detectives piece together the alleged chain linking the planners, financiers, surveillance team, transporters and shooters in the murder.
The DCI said investigations remain active and that it would continue updating the public on significant developments “whenever it is operationally appropriate to do so.”
