Detectives are widening the manhunt for two police officers wanted over the killing in July of Dr Victoria Mutiso, with investigators enlisting Interpol to help trace the fugitives, who are believed to be hiding in Uganda.
At the same time, fresh court filings reveal that the murder had been planned months earlier, with a Sh300,000 down payment allegedly made to the suspected killers on April 24 for the murder to be carried out.
Inspector Kenneth Kipkemboi Sang and Police Constable Bett Kiplangat Collins remain at large as detectives pursue the chain linking suspected financiers, police officers, a gunman, a driver and a motorcycle rider.
Dr Mutiso, a prominent neuroscientist and former Director of Research and Administration at the Africa Institute of Mental and Brain Health, was shot dead on July 29, 2026, in Nairobi's Upper Hill area while travelling in an Uber.
The latest court affidavit from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) says some suspects remain at large, including “some of whom are senior police officers”.
It says investigators are pursuing several leads before submitting the file to the Director of Public Prosecutions for an independent decision on charges.
A detective involved in the search, but who spoke in confidence as he is not allowed to comment publicly about the case, told the Nation that investigators believe Inspector Sang and Constable Bett may have fled to Uganda early this month and that Kenyan authorities have sought help from Ugandan authorities to trace them.
An undated photo of slain clinical psychologist and mental health researcher Dr Victoria Nthunya Mutiso.
Photo credit: Pool
DCI Director Mohamed Amin earlier said Inspector Sang, then serving at Nderi Police Post, was allegedly the link between the financiers of the killing and the operational team, while Constable Bett was attached to Thogoto Police Post.
Court papers say his firearm was used in the killing and was found at the Nderi Police Post armoury.
The firearm had allegedly been issued to Sang, while ballistic examinations linked it to cartridges recovered from the crime scene and the bullet retrieved from Dr Mutiso.
The documents say investigators recovered a Mini Jericho pistol linked to cartridge cases and a bullet head recovered after the killing.
The fresh documents also indicate that Inspector Sang was in communication with lawyer Angella Mulwa, who was also arrested over the killing.
“She (Angella Mulwa) has been in constant communication with Kenneth Sang, a senior police officer whose firearm s/no 47302127, which had been issued to him, was used to commit the offence,” says Corporal Romana Oduor, an investigator, in an affidavit.
Meanwhile, a Milimani Law Courts magistrate, Ms Joan Mati, freed Ms Angella Mulwa, who had been granted a cash bail of Sh1 million by a Mavoko Law Courts magistrate, Ms Lilian Kwamboka, on August 20, 2026.
Ms Mati reserved until August 24, 2026, a ruling on whether police will be allowed to detain Angella for 14 days to investigate her alleged involvement in the murder of Dr Mutiso.
One of the two vehicles and the motorcycle that were used in the murder of Dr Victoria Mutiso on August 07, 2026 at the DCI headquarters.
Photo credit: Francis Nderitu | Nation Media Group
Defence lawyers Danstan Omari and Martina Swiga opposed the fresh police request, arguing that Ms Mati could not decide a similar matter that had already been decided by another magistrate of equal jurisdiction.
However, prosecuting counsel Ms Evelyn Mutisya said the fresh application was different from the Mavoko matter, where police were investigating theft of a high-end motor vehicle, demolition and eviction, and whether there was forgery of a court order in respect of a parcel of land at Mavoko.
“I hereby reserve my ruling to Monday (August 24), whether to allow police to keep the respondent (Angella Mulwa) for 14 days. Meanwhile Angella will be released from police custody as she had been granted a cash bail of Sh1 million which she has since paid,” Ms Mati said.
Another officer, Police Constable Elijah Kibelion Kimoi, attached to Karinde Police Post, is accused of firing the fatal shot.
The affidavit also says lawyer Angella Mulwa was allegedly present on April 24 when Sh300,000 was paid as a down payment for the planned killing.
“She was present on April 24, 2026, during payment of Sh300,000 down payment for Dr Mutiso to be murdered which failed to materialize,” the affidavit states.
The investigator, attached to the DCI Homicide Investigations Bureau, alleges Angella was also present during the eviction and demolition of a property linked to Dr Mutiso in Machakos.
Corporal Oduor also says the lawyer was in constant communication with Inspector Sang, whom investigators describe as a senior police officer.
The Jericho Pistol used in the murder of Dr Victoria Mutiso on August 07, 2026 at the DCI headquarters.
Photo credit: Francis Nderitu | Nation Media Group
The fresh application was filed on Friday after lawyer Angella was re-arrested on August 20, shortly after being released on bond by the Mavoko court. The court had ordered her release on a Sh1 million bond after rejecting a prosecution request for seven more days.
The lawyer and Nelson Masiga had been released on Sh1 million bonds, with conditions requiring them to surrender passports, remain within the court’s jurisdiction and report to investigators when required.
The new application seeks 14 more days to hold Angella at Industrial Area Police Station while detectives complete the murder investigation.
Investigators say she is known to material witnesses, including members of Dr Mutiso’s family and people connected to the Machakos land dispute. They argue her release could lead to interference with witnesses or collusion with suspects at large.
The affidavit links the murder inquiry to the property, known as LR No. 1504/13, which is before the Machakos court. Detectives say the dispute “might be one of the motives for killing the Dr Mutiso”.
The property dispute had appeared in earlier detention applications involving lawyer Angella’s mother, Rose Mbithe Mulwa, and brother Chris Mulwa. Police allege the dispute was followed by eviction, demolition and theft of vehicles.
Court papers also reveal that investigators are examining Dr Mutiso’s earlier reports of threats. On July 7, she told police that two armed men on a motorcycle confronted her near Junction Mall along Ngong Road.
“She managed to flee and later she made a report at Kilimani Police Station vide OB No. 63/07/07/2026,” the fresh affidavit says. The officer adds that before the fatal shooting, Dr Mutiso had also reported that she was being trailed.
Dr Mutiso was killed 22 days later while travelling in motor vehicle KDJ 609D in Upper Hill. Investigators recovered two spent cartridges and two bullet fragments for forensic examination.
The new affidavit says forensic work also involves CCTV footage, call-data records and several vehicles and a motorcycle. The vehicles listed are KDJ 609D, KDH 600A and KDE 400W, while the motorcycle is KMGZ 980D.
Three other people in custody include a police constable attached to Karinde Police Post, who is accused of firing the fatal shot; a civilian who was driving the black Toyota Prado that allegedly blocked the car that Dr Mutiso was travelling in; and another civilian accused of transporting Kimoi on a motorcycle.
Detective Oduor says the investigation remains “active and intelligence-led”, with several leads still outstanding.
The fresh affidavit names two earlier miscellaneous murder files involving Rose and Chris Mulwa and Constable Elijah Kibelion Kimoi, Daniel Mwangi Njoroge and Kelvin Ngugi Kinuthia. Investigators say other accomplices remain on the run.
The investigators want time to complete technical inquiries, submit the file to the DPP and obtain an independent decision on whether charges should be preferred and merged.
The investigation has moved beyond Kenya’s borders. The whereabouts of the two officers remain unresolved as detectives trace the firearm, communications and vehicles.
The new court filing does not establish that any respondent committed the murder. It records what investigators say they have found and the inquiries they still need to complete before prosecutors make their final decision on charges.
