A lawyer who had emerged as a key person of interest in the murder of Dr Victoria Mutiso has been re-arrested outside the Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi.
The development followed an application by Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Renson Mulele Ingonga seeking to have the lawyer charged with murder over the August 24 killing of her stepmother, Dr Victoria.
Milimani Senior Resident Magistrate Joan Mati approved the DPP’s application, allowing authorities to continue holding the lawyer as the murder case proceeds.
The proposed murder charges also implicate her mother and brother, who are among the key suspects in a case linked to a multi-billion-shilling dispute over a 20-acre parcel of land in Mlolongo.
The re-arrest comes days after the High Court granted the lawyer and her co-accused a cash bond of Ksh1 million each, allowing them partial freedom in a separate case involving allegations of possessing a stolen Range Rover Sport valued at Ksh15 million.
On Monday, Judge Lilian Kwamboka granted the bond after noting that investigations involving the mother and son had been completed. However, the investigation file had subsequently been forwarded to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) for review.
The ODPP informed the court that it had not yet communicated whether the two suspects should be formally charged. Prosecutors consequently argued that they needed an additional week to allow the ODPP to review the file and issue further directions.
Before the latest rearrest, the lawyer’s defence team, led by city lawyer Danstan Omari, opposed an application seeking to transfer her file to another court. Omari argued that the matter should continue before the magistrate currently handling it.
He maintained that his client had already presented herself before the court and remained out on bond. He also questioned the State’s attempt to move the case to another judicial officer, arguing that such a transfer could affect her ability to represent clients in a related matter.
Omari further demanded that the State present a properly drafted charge sheet on Tuesday, arguing that investigators had been given 21 days to complete their work but had failed to produce tangible evidence.
"The state was granted 21 days to do the investigation. We expect the state to come tomorrow with the charges. I don't know which court it is in, but they were granted 30 days," stated Lawyer Omari.
He added, "This has two files. So we completely object to that application. But this file be prematurely be transferred before you apply your mind into the evidence that we have."
Dr Victoria Mutiso, a prominent clinical psychologist, was killed in Nairobi on July 29 after her taxi was ambushed at a road junction by armed attackers travelling on a motorcycle and in a vehicle.
A gunman reportedly opened fire during the attack, critically injuring Mutiso before she succumbed to her injuries shortly after being taken to hospital.
Investigators have linked the killing to a long-running land dispute, with allegations that relatives of her husband orchestrated the attack and hired hitmen, including rogue police officers accused of using service firearms. The suspects allegedly made a partial payment before the fatal attack was carried out.
