Lawyers withdraw from Dr Victoria Mutiso murder case amid courtroom drama
Dr Victoria Mutiso, a clinical psychologist who was gunned down in Nairobi on July 29, 2026.
What you need to know:
- Defence lawyers stunned the court by asking to withdraw from the case.
- The accused persons claimed that police had been torturing them during their 60 days in custody.
The murder case against Rose Mbithe Mulwa alias Rose Mbithe Ndetei, her two children, a police officer and a private investigator was thrown into fresh turmoil on Tuesday after five defence lawyers withdrew from the proceedings amid allegations of torture and discrimination by police.
The dramatic turn of events came after the accused persons told the High Court that they had written to President William Ruto accusing police of torturing them during their 60 days in custody and treating some suspects preferentially.
Prosecuting counsel Jalson Makori, appearing alongside Gikui Gichuhi, told Justice Alexander Muteti that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) was studying the letter before responding to the allegations.
Mr Makori did not produce a copy of the letter in court but said it had been copied to Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, Head of Public Service Felix Koskei and Inspector-General of Police Douglas Kanja.
Also copied are Director of Criminal Investigations Mohamed Amin, the Attorney-General and the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), among other senior government officials.
Rose Mbithe Mulwa (centre), her son Chris (right) and her daughter Angela Mulwa appear before the Milimani High Court on September 29, 2026, where they pleaded not guilty to the murder of Dr Victoria Mutiso.
“In the letter the accused claim they were tortured and discriminated against by the police during their 60 days in custody,” Mr Makori told the court.
He asked for 14 days to respond to the allegations saying DPP Renson Ingonga had also been mentioned in the complaints and was considering the response.
The developments followed the arraignment of the five accused persons over the murder of Dr Victoria Mutiso. The suspects denied the charges on July 29.
Those facing the murder charge are Ms Mulwa, her children Chris and Angela, Police Constable Elijah Kibellion Kimoi and Martin Kimutai alias Kim.
Soon after the pleas were taken, however, their lawyers stunned the court by asking to withdraw from the case.
Lawyers Cliff Ombeta, Danstan Omari, Martina Swiga, Sam Nyaberi and Shadrack Wambui said their clients had been making applications in court without consulting them.
“We are not pulling in the same direction. Rose, Chris and Angela are doing their own things and I plus my colleagues cannot continue representing them. Remove me and my colleagues from the representation. We are leaving now,” Mr Ombeta told the judge.
His position was supported by the other lawyers.
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.
Mr Ombeta said he was particularly angered after learning that Ms Mulwa and her children had filed an application seeking to be released on bond without involving their lawyers.
The mother and her children subsequently engaged lawyer Joel Kyatha Mbaluka, who asked the court to release them on bond.
Ms Mulwa protested the withdrawal of the lawyers, saying she and her children were being left without legal support at a critical stage of the case.
“We (Rose, Chris and Angela) are discouraged. The lawyers are abandoning us at the hour of need and when we need them most,” she said.
She claimed that the lawyers had not visited her in prison to obtain instructions on issues surrounding the case.
Ms Mulwa further alleged that she and her children had been tortured while in police custody and claimed that she was now urinating blood.
She told the court that while some suspects had been held for only 30 days, she and her children had spent 60 days in custody.
“The application by the prosecution to be given 14 days to respond to their bail application is a furtherance of the move to ensure they stay in custody for a long time,” she claimed.
From right; Rose Mbithe Mulwa, her two children Chris and Angela Mulwa, and police officers Elijah Kibelion and Maritim Kimutai before Milimani High Court on September 29, 2026.
Ms Mulwa also denied that she was before the court because of the alleged murder of Dr Mutiso, whom she described as her former co-wife.
Instead, she linked her prosecution to a long-running land dispute involving property in Mlolongo, which she said was pending before the Machakos High Court and is due for further hearing in October.
The 75-year-old further opened up about her marriage to renowned psychiatrist Professor David Ndetei, saying she left the union because of violence.
“I quit my marriage not because of women but because of violence,” she told the court.
Ms Mulwa, who described herself as sickly, asked the judge to show mercy to her and her children.
She claimed the Inspector-General of Police had deployed about 20 officers to evict Dr Mutiso from the disputed Mlolongo property.
“Police are the ones who carted away documents and drove the high-end vehicles from the compound of the deceased to Karen,” she alleged.
Justice Muteti subsequently allowed the lawyers to withdraw from the case.
The judge directed the prosecution to file an affidavit within three days responding to the allegations of torture and discrimination raised by the accused.
He also directed Mr Mbaluka to respond to an affidavit filed by investigating officer Corporal Romana Oduor opposing the accused persons' release on bond.
In her affidavit, Corporal Oduor said the accused were involved in the meticulous planning and execution of Dr Mutiso's murder.
The judge directed that the bond application be heard on October 6.
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