Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) are searching for a police inspector suspected of playing a central role in the killing of psychologist Dr Victoria Mutiso, with investigators describing the murder as a well-planned execution tied to a protracted land dispute.
Addressing the media at Magereza House on Friday, August 7, DCI Director Mohamed Amin said detectives had identified the inspector, who is attached to Nderu Police Station in Kikuyu, as the key intermediary between those who allegedly financed the murder and the gunmen who executed it.
Amin further disclosed that ballistic examinations conducted on a firearm recovered following the arrest of a second police officer, believed to have been the triggerman, established that the weapon belonged to the inspector who remains at large.
"Investigations have established that the elimination of Dr Mutiso was driven by a longstanding land civil dispute," Amin said, adding that detectives were pursuing additional suspects believed to have planned and facilitated the killing.
The DCI also announced the arrest of two suspects, among them a police officer, over the fatal shooting.
According to investigators, evidence places the officer at the scene of the crime, and he is also under investigation over gunshots fired during the attack.
Investigators recovered two spent cartridges at the scene of the crime, while a bullet head was extracted during Dr Victoria Mutiso's postmortem examination, providing critical forensic evidence that investigators say linked the recovered pistol to the fatal shooting.
Amin said detectives reconstructed what he described as a carefully executed operation using forensic findings, CCTV footage and intelligence from several security agencies, enabling them to identify suspects believed to have planned and coordinated the murder.
According to the DCI, one suspect has been identified as the mastermind behind the operation. Detectives allege he was behind the wheel of the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado used to obstruct the taxi carrying Dr Mutiso moments before the attack and oversaw the movements of the hit squad.
Investigations further established that two Toyota Prado vehicles were deployed during the operation, with one used to block the victim's vehicle while the other transported the attackers.
Detectives tracked down the registered owners of the two vehicles, who told investigators they had rented them to the main suspect before the cars were returned on July 30, 2026.
Vehicle tracking records also placed both Prados at the scene when the shooting occurred. Detectives have since arrested and detained a motorcycle rider accused of transporting the suspected gunman to and from the crime scene.
"Investigations led our officers to serving police officers who, unfortunately, played very critical roles in the conspiracy. A police inspector, the officer in charge of Nderi Police Post under Kikuyu Police Station, has been positively identified as the link between the financiers and the operational team, as well as the source of the murder weapon," Amin said.
He said the alleged involvement of serving police officers amounted to "a grave betrayal of the uniform and the public trust", adding that detectives would continue pursuing everyone linked to the killing.
The fresh revelations come a week after Chief Government Pathologist Johansen Oduor confirmed that Dr Mutiso succumbed to excessive bleeding after suffering three gunshot wounds during the July 29 attack in Nairobi's Upper Hill.
According to the postmortem findings, the psychologist was shot twice in the head and once in the upper back, with the injuries causing fatal damage to her chest and head.
