NAIROBI, Kenya — Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) are pursuing a police inspector believed to have played a central role in the murder of psychologist Dr Victoria Mutiso, as investigators allege that serving police officers were involved in what they describe as a carefully coordinated assassination linked to a longstanding land dispute.
Addressing a press briefing at Magereza House on Friday, August 7, DCI Director Mohamed Amin said investigations had identified the officer in charge of Nderi Police Post, under Kikuyu Police Station, as a key link between the alleged financiers of the murder and the team accused of carrying out the killing.
According to Amin, the inspector remains at large.
The DCI said forensic and ballistic examinations established that a Mini Jericho pistol recovered from the armoury at Nderi Police Post was the weapon used to kill Dr Mutiso.
Investigators said the firearm had officially been issued to the police inspector now being sought.
“Investigations have established that the elimination of Dr Mutiso was driven by a longstanding land civil dispute,” Amin told journalists.
He added that detectives were pursuing additional suspects believed to have financed and coordinated the alleged murder.
The DCI said a police constable attached to Karinde Police Post, also under Kikuyu Police Station, had been arrested after investigators identified him as the suspected gunman.
According to detectives, forensic evidence placed the officer at the scene of the July 29 shooting.
Investigators recovered two spent cartridges from the crime scene, while a bullet retrieved during the postmortem examination was subjected to ballistic analysis. The DCI said the examinations matched the recovered projectile to the Mini Jericho pistol seized from Nderi Police Post.
Amin said investigators reconstructed the events leading to the killing using forensic analysis, CCTV footage, mobile phone data and intelligence gathered from multiple security agencies.
According to the DCI, detectives identified one suspect as the alleged coordinator of the operation.
Investigators claim he drove the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado used to block the Uber carrying Dr Mutiso before the shooting and coordinated the movements of the alleged hit squad.
The DCI said two Toyota Prado vehicles were used during the operation—one to obstruct the victim’s vehicle and another to transport members of the alleged assassination team.
Detectives traced the owners of both vehicles, who reportedly confirmed that they had rented them to the prime suspect before they were returned on July 30.
Vehicle tracking data allegedly placed both vehicles at the crime scene at the time of the attack.
Investigators have also arrested the boda boda rider accused of ferrying the alleged gunman to and from the scene.
Amin described the alleged involvement of serving police officers as a serious breach of public trust.
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“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,” he said.
He added:
“The involvement of these rogue officers represents a grave betrayal of the uniform and the public trust.”
The DCI boss said investigators would continue pursuing everyone believed to have participated in planning, financing or executing the killing.
The latest developments come a week after Chief Government Pathologist Dr Johansen Oduor confirmed that Dr Mutiso died from massive blood loss after sustaining three gunshot wounds during the July 29 attack in Nairobi.
The postmortem examination found that she had been shot twice in the head and once through the upper back, with the injuries causing fatal damage to her head and chest.
Investigators maintain that inquiries are ongoing as detectives pursue additional suspects and seek to establish the full extent of the alleged conspiracy behind the killing.
