A plan to sell his car for money to sustain life on the run may have exposed former police inspector Kenneth Kipkemboi Sang to the detectives who had been hunting him for months over the murders of lawyer Kyalo Mbobu and clinical psychologist Dr Victoria Mutiso.
Last month, detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) travelled to Eldoret after receiving intelligence that Sang had returned to Kenya from Uganda, where he was suspected to have been hiding.
But their first operation ended in frustration when the wanted officer failed to show up for a meeting he had arranged with a relative at a hotel along Uganda Road.
Investigators suspected Sang was running short of money and struggling to maintain his life in hiding. The Daily Nation has learnt from officers privy the murders’ invetsigations that Sang had abandoned his known mobile phone and was relying on borrowed handsets to communicate with a few friends and relatives he believed would not betray him.
It was through a mutual contact that a possible sale of his personal vehicle was first discussed, giving investigators a fresh lead to pursue.
Last Friday, detectives received intelligence that Sang had returned to the country to meet a potential buyer for his silver Toyota Fielder.
A team from DCI headquarters in Nairobi travelled to Eldoret and laid an ambush along Uganda Road. He was intercepted as he drove through the town’s central business district.
The arrest on Saturday night marked a breakthrough in the hunt for the former inspector who investigators suspect played a role in coordinating operations linked to the killings of Mbobu and Dr Mutiso.
The DCI described the arrest as intelligence led saying detectives had acted on actionable information that led them to Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County.
Lawyer Kyalo Mbobu was brutally shot dead by two assailants on a motorbike in an attack that detectives have ruled out as a robbery. The well-planned attack, which involved eight gunshots, suggests that it was a premeditated assassination.
Photo credit: Evans Habil, File | Nation
“Inspector Kenneth Kipkemboi Sang, who had been on the run, was arrested by a team of detectives from DCI Headquarters following actionable intelligence that led them to Eldoret town, Uasin Gishu County,” the DCI said in a statement on X.
Sang was booked at Eldoret Police Station before being transferred to Nairobi for further interrogation.
“No rank, status or affiliation places anyone above the law,” the DCI said.
His arrest shifts attention to the investigators’ next task of establishing the alleged links between the two killings, a contested parcel of land and the people suspected of planning, financing or executing the attacks.
Investigators suspect the murders may be connected to a long running property dispute involving Dr Mutiso’s husband Prof David Musyimi Ndetei and his former wife, Rose Mbithe Mulwa.
The contested parcel is believed to have attracted the interest of businessmen whose alleged links to its purchase are expected to feature in the next phase of investigations. However, the alleged motive and the individual roles of those under investigation remain matters to be established through evidence.
Mbobu, a prominent lawyer and university was shot dead on September 9, 2025, while driving home along Magadi Road in Nairobi.
Investigators described the killing as a targeted attack carried out by a gunman riding a motorcycle. The case remained unresolved for months as detectives pursued leads on the identity of the shooter and the people who may have planned or financed the operation.
In September 2026, the DCI announced a breakthrough following the arrest of Police Constable Julius Kipkoech Cheruiyot, whom investigators suspect was the gunman who killed Mbobu.
Detectives also recovered a Ceska pistol issued to the officer. According to the DCI, ballistic examination linked the firearm to the lawyer’s killing.
Investigators subsequently identified Sang as a suspect allegedly involved in coordinating the operation.
The Director of Public Prosecutions later approved murder charges against five suspects in connection with Mbobu’s death. These are Rose Mulwa, her children Chris Mulwa and Angela Mulwa, and police constables Cheruiyot and Kennedy Kipkemei Borbor.
Dr Mutiso, a clinical psychologist and mental health researcher, was shot dead on July 29, 2026, while travelling in a vehicle in Nairobi’s Upper Hill area.
Dr Victoria Mutiso, a clinical psychologist who was gunned down in Nairobi on July 29, 2026.
The attackers reportedly intercepted the vehicle before a gunman opened fire. Detectives later arrested several suspects and began pursuing possible links between her killing and Mbobu’s murder.
Investigators have been examining whether the two cases were connected through the property dispute involving Prof Ndetei and Ms Mulwa.
They suspect different individuals may have played separate roles, ranging from coordination and logistical support to facilitating the movement of those involved.
The alleged connection remains a central line of inquiry and investigators must establish the evidence linking each suspect to the respective killings.
Before his arrest, Sang had remained at large as detectives pursued leads about his whereabouts.
In September, investigators travelled to Busia after receiving intelligence about his possible location. They also explored the possibility that he had crossed into Tanzania, widening the search.
