Pain and fury as lawyer Mbobu is buried amid call for speedy probe

Slain city lawyer Kyalo Mbobu was on Wednesday laid to rest in his home in Mua Hills, Machakos County, where calls for justice dominated mourners’ speeches.

And just like it happened during his requiem Mass in Nairobi on Tuesday, the media was barred from covering the event attended by thousands of mourners, including lawyers, politicians and dignitaries.

It was a rare ceremony where only family-contracted cameramen and photographers were allowed to film and photograph the funeral service conducted by Machakos Catholic Diocese Bishop Norman King’oo.

Speeches were notably limited in favour of dignitaries who included First Lady Rachael Ruto, family, professional associations and isolated welfare and community groups in which the slain lawyer was a member.

Mbobu’s widow, Ann Mwende, termed her husband’s demise as the most devastating for the family, and which will only take God’s intervention to bear with. “His death is a painful experience for us as a family, and we only look up to God to carry us through,” she said.

Born in 1962 in Maiani village in Mukaa, Makueni County, Mbobu attended Maiani Primary School before proceeding to Ofafa Jericho High School in Nairobi. He later proceeded to the University of Nairobi to pursue law.

After practising law in various firms in Nairobi, he founded Kyalo and Associates Advocates in 1995, where his clientele included banks and insurance companies.

Politicians called for speedy dispensation of justice over the murder. Former Nairobi governor Mike Sonko said it was high time the government regulated the boda boda sector to address the spiralling cases of ‘murderers on bikes.’

“We are not saying boda boda operators are criminals. But we have witnessed numerous cases where serious crimes have been executed using motorbikes. Recently, an MP was murdered in a similar scenario. As a country, we must deal with this issue urgently and conclusively,” said Sonko.

He urged security agencies to speed up investigations and tell the world who was responsible for Mbobu’s murder.

Machakos Governor Wavinya Ndeti urged the police to leave no stone unturned and unravel the mystery of the murder.

“No one has the right to take anyone’s life. We call upon the police to hunt down Mbobu’s killers and bring them to justice,” she said.

Makueni Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jnr said: “We may say vengeance is of the Lord, but we shall revisit every bullet that hit him.”

On Wednesday, it emerged that it took police eight days to seek closed CCTV footage from Town House and adjacent buildings in relation to the lawyer's assassination.

On Tuesday, new detectives pursuing the killers visited Town House, where Mbobu had an office and requested CCTV footage. The Standard had revealed on Saturday that the police had not yet even gone to review the footage, or even interviewed a man who appeared prominently on the footage.

The man wearing a black cap and carrying a black backpack was seen in the lift together with the slain advocate. Later in the footage, they appeared together on CCTV as the man was talking on the phone and Mbobu was walking away.

“Police finally went to Town House and asked for the CCTV footage. They then interviewed the control room operator and took copies of the footage. They had spent a week chasing the wrong suspects,” said a source within the police force.

Also interviewed was Mbobu’s office manager, who has worked for him for 23 years. Following the acquisition of the footage, the police have trailed the unidentified man who was in the lift with Mbobu to Tom Mboya Street, where he entered a forex bureau.

“If he had any transaction in the bureau, the police will get his details and get to sit down with him for questioning so as to eliminate him from the list of suspects,” says a police source.

The first team investigating the murder had held city businessman and politician George Wainaina, his nephew Paul Mburu and Mbobu’s neighbour Eric Muhia.

“Investigations reveal the trio had no motive or opportunity to harm the late. They were cleared of all suspicion,” says the source.

The new team of detectives had started fresh investigations on Monday. They also wrote to all banks the slain lawyer was holding accounts with to demand for Mbobu’s bank statements. The disbanded old team that had bungled the investigations has been sent back to their offices to wait for new instructions.

Early last week, Director of Public Prosecutions Renson Igonga had directed the police to furnish his office with a report within seven days. Following the bungled investigations, the Inspector General of the Police, Kanja, said the police will not give timelines on when the investigations will be complete.

This is to allow the officers to do a thorough job. “Investigation is a process, which, as the DCI has said, he has set up a strong team with all the necessary capabilities to ensure that the murder is unraveled,” he said in an interview, adding: “At this stage, I cannot give timelines, but as I have said, DCI boss Mohamed Amin is under instructions to move with speed and settle that issue and bring to book those who committed that heinous crime,” he said.

“Once we lay our hands on the criminals, we can then be able to give timelines,” Kanja said.

[David Odongo, Erastus Mulwa and Lenox Sengre]