The Nairobi lawyer assassination has sent ripples of fear through Kenya’s legal community after prominent advocate Mathew Kyalo Mbobu was gunned down in a targeted attack on Magadi Road on September 9, 2025, with eight close-range shots confirming a premeditated hit linked to his mounting debts and a disputed Ksh 250 million land deal.
The 62-year-old, a former chairman of the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal and respected University of Nairobi lecturer, was ambushed while driving home in his SUV; his body was found slumped in the driver’s seat amid a pool of blood, prompting swift outrage from the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) and calls for justice amid Kenya’s rising wave of targeted killings.
The attack unfolded around 7:30 p.m. in the upscale Karen area, where Mbobu, founder of Kyalo & Associates, was trailed by assailants on a motorcycle before they pulled alongside and unleashed a barrage of gunfire.
Eyewitnesses described the precision: a hitman on the bike firing methodically, shattering the vehicle window and striking Mbobu in the neck, chin, and spine, before speeding off into the night.
Autopsy results from Chief Government Pathologist Johansen Oduor revealed excessive bleeding and spinal injuries as the cause of death, with gunpowder burns indicating shots from mere inches away, a hallmark of professional execution. Police recovered spent cartridges and towed the vehicle to Lang’ata Station for forensics, while CCTV footage from nearby spots is under review to trace the killers’ route.
Beneath Mbobu’s illustrious career, authoring the seminal textbook “The Law and Practice of Evidence in Kenya”, mentoring generations at UofN and Kenya School of Law, and chairing corporate boards like Quest Holdings, lay a web of financial woes that investigators now probe as a motive.
Blacklisted by major banks, he turned to shylocks and microfinance firms, defaulting on loans ballooning to hundreds of millions, including a Ksh 17 million ranch project that swelled to Ksh 52 million in demands.
Court records show multiple suits: one client accused him of withholding Ksh 40 million from arbitration awards, while another in a 2023 case claimed misappropriation of funds meant for a property deal.
At the heart sits the explosive Ksh 250 million Karen land sale, where Mbobu allegedly pocketed Ksh 97 million from the buyer but remitted only Ksh 153 million to the seller, sparking fraud allegations and bitter litigation.
Makueni Senator Dan Maanzo linked the murder to such high-stakes money and land cases, warning that handling elite disputes invites deadly peril.
Whispers also tie it to a 33-year-old case involving retired Captain Kung’u Muigai, in which Mbobu once represented him, fuelling speculation about old vendettas. The LSK, led by President Faith Odhiambo, decried the hit as a “pre-determined assassination” threatening the profession’s independence, announcing a Purple Ribbon March for September 12 to demand protection for lawyers.
Senate Speaker Amason Kingi, a former student, mourned his mentor’s loss, urging thorough probes to unmask the culprits.
Social media overflowed with tributes and witness accounts of the chilling scene, drawing parallels to MP Charles Ong’ondo Were’s similar fate in April. DCI’s homicide unit, under Martin Nyuguto, has vowed a relentless pursuit, but public trust wavers amid past unsolved cases.
As the Nairobi lawyer assassination probe deepens, Mbobu’s family and peers grapple with grief, pushing for transparency in his tangled finances to prevent more elite circle fallout. With debts and the Ksh 250 million land deal under scrutiny, authorities must act decisively to restore faith in justice, ensuring no advocate falls victim to the shadows of fraud and vendetta in Kenya’s cutthroat legal arena.
