Rose Mbithe Mulwa has lived much of her adult life in the public eye. First, she was the wife of one of Kenya’s leading psychiatrists. Later, she became a businesswoman and politician, and most recently, a party leader with governorship and presidential ambitions.
The former candidate for the governorship of Machakos in 2022 now finds herself at the centre of one of the country’s most high-profile murder investigations, having been arrested alongside her son, advocate Chris Mulwa, over the killing of clinical psychologist Dr Victoria Mutiso.
The pair was arraigned yesterday as detectives sought more time to conclude their investigation into the fatal shooting of Dr Mutiso, who was shot dead in Upper Hill, Nairobi, on Wednesday while travelling to work in a taxi.
Before she was known as Rose Mbithe Mulwa, she was known as Rose Mbithe Ndetei, as indicated in a Gazette Notice dated May 13, 2003, obtained by the Nation.
Rose Mbithiwe Mulwa and Chris Mulwa before the Milimani Law Court on July 31, 2026. The two are persons of interest in the fatal shooting of Dr Victoria Mutiso that happened in Nairobi's Upper Hill area.
Photo credit: Billy Ogada | Nation Media Group
She changed her surname after divorcing Prof David Musyimi Ndetei in the early 2000s. Prof David Ndetei was the husband of the late Dr Victoria Mutiso.
The Nation examined Rose Mbithe Mulwa’s background and found divorce proceedings dating back to 2002, which marked the end of her 31-year marriage to Prof Ndetei. The couple had four children together.
After the divorce, Rose filed a suit over their matrimonial property, including a multi-million-shilling estate. She lost.
Prof Ndetei was represented by Kyalo Mbobu, a lawyer who was shot dead in September last year while driving along Magadi Road in Karen after leaving his office.
In 2004, Mr Mbobu filed a defamation suit against Rose Mulwa, claiming she had defamed him during the divorce proceedings between her and Prof Ndetei.
Slain clinical psychologist and mental health researcher Dr Victoria Nthunya Mutiso.
Photo credit: Pool
Rose wrote a letter which was circulated to various individuals and institutions. It stated the following in part:
“I applied for division of matrimonial property case No. 6 of 2002 between myself and one Prof David Musyimi Ndetei. It was initiated by my lawyer, Chris Mutuku Advocates, in February 2002 and certified to proceed. However, opposing advocate Kyalo Mbobu insisted his diary was full until the end of the year. Come February 2003, he again purported to have a full diary... This deliberate behaviour causes unwarranted discomfort to the parties concerned, more so when the delay is purely out of malice... It is advocates like Kyalo Mbobu, on realisation that they are losing a case, who do not avail themselves for its prosecution...”
In this case that went all the way to the Court of Appeal, Mbobu also claimed that Rose had accosted him in a grocery store. The court ordered her to pay him Sh1.5 million in damages.
Mr Mbobu was killed last year when a gunman on a motorcycle opened fire on his vehicle before fleeing. The police are still investigating the case.
Rose Mulwa grew up in Iveti in Machakos County and describes herself as a businesswoman and politician. She contested the Machakos governor seat in 2022, but lost to Wavinya Ndeti.
She recently announced her intention to run for president next year as a candidate for the Empowerment and Liberation Party (ELP). She presented herself as a mother to the nation and a visionary leader. She said her agenda is anchored in God, national unity, and family values.
“Let me reiterate my agenda: ELP – Agenda Kenya Forty-Seven, AK47. At ELP, we do not use guns; we take action together as a united family. This journey is not mine alone; it is ours,” she said during the launch of her party in August last year. She is also the party’s national leader.
Rose is also the founder of Live and Shine, a platform that supports underprivileged single mothers and orphans.
Rose Mbithe Mulwa and her son Chris Mulwa at the Milimani Law Courts where they have been arraigned over the fatal shooting of Dr Victoria Nthunya Mutiso in Upper Hill, Nairobi.
Photo credit: Richard Munguti | Nation
Prof Ndetei, Rose’s former husband, is a renowned psychiatrist. After their divorce, he married Dr Mutiso. They had two children.
Prof Ndetei founded Africa Institute for Mental and Brain Health, where Dr Victoria was director of research and administration.
On Wednesday, a black SUV was reportedly parked at the junction of Mbagathi Link Road before the taxi carrying Dr Mutiso arrived and stopped beside it. A motorcycle carrying three men then arrived. One of the men dismounted, approached the rear passenger door where Dr Mutiso was sitting, shot her and fled.
“I heard about four gunshots, then I saw the men on the motorcycle speeding off. I ran to the scene and saw a black SUV speeding away. The man in the SUV was shouting,” said a security guard who was at the scene.
The taxi driver took the clinical psychologist to Kenyatta National Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. A spent cartridge was recovered at the scene.
Detectives from the DCI are analysing CCTV footage to reconstruct the events. Preliminary investigations suggest the victim had been followed from the apartment she shared with Prof Ndetei on Riara Road.
This murder was preceded by other incidents, including attacks on another property where she and her husband lived.
On February 12, she alleged that a group of thugs accompanied by police officers, led by a senior officer from Mlolongo Police Station, broke into their home, damaged property, attempted to steal their vehicles, and tried to abduct them.
She said she reported the incident at the station, but claimed the senior officer had interfered with the process, resulting in an OB number only being issued in May under OB 42/04/05/2026.
The Nation contacted the Mlolongo Sub-county Police Commander to verify the report filed by Dr Mutiso, but he had not responded by the time of publication.
Another police report seen by the Nation states that, on July 7, 2026, Dr Mutiso had stopped at traffic lights in Dagoretti while driving home when a man armed with a gun approached her window on a motorcycle. She sped off and drove to Kilimani Police Station to report the incident, but the officers there referred her to the Satellite Police Station.
Three weeks later, she was shot dead.
