Detectives investigating the murder of Dr Victoria Nthunya Mutiso have arrested three more suspects in a coordinated operation spanning Nairobi and Kampala, as police intensify investigations into the July 29 killing in Upper Hill, Nairobi.
Two of the suspects, including a Kenyan police officer, were arrested in Uganda after investigators traced them to Kyanja Heights flats in Kampala’s Nakawa suburb.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said the arrests were carried out by a specialized team drawn from its Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau, Operations Directorate and Homicide Bureau, with the assistance of the Uganda Police Force.
The suspects arrested in Kampala were identified as Police Constable Collins Bett Kiplangat, attached to Thogoto Police Station, and civilian Pius Muiru Mbugua.
According to the DCI, the two had crossed into Uganda after Dr Mutiso’s killing and were located following forensic analysis by investigators.
“The National Police Service acknowledges the professional support of the Uganda Police Force, whose cooperation made the raid, arrests and secure detention possible,” the DCI said.
The two are being held at Jinja Road Police Station in Kampala as arrangements are made to escort them back to Kenya.
In Nairobi, detectives also arrested Samuel Karanja Gathoni, alias “Lawyer”, in the Lang’ata Multi-Media area as he travelled towards Ongata Rongai.
Investigators allege that Bett played a surveillance role in the operation that led to Dr Mutiso’s death and was a co-driver to Daniel Mwangi Njoroge, whom police describe as one of the central organizers of the alleged operation.
Njoroge is alleged to have driven a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, registration KDH 600A, which investigators say was used to block the Uber vehicle carrying Dr Mutiso in Upper Hill on the morning of July 29.
She was shot moments later.
Detectives are also investigating allegations that Mbugua acted as a link between the team accused of carrying out the killing and the person believed to have commissioned it.
The DCI claims Mbugua handled payments for logistics and facilitated the movement of members of the alleged hit team.
The latest arrests mark a significant development in an investigation that has attracted intense public attention since Dr Mutiso was killed.
Police said the suspects arrested in Uganda will be returned to Kenya before being processed alongside Gathoni and presented in court in accordance with the law.
None of the suspects has been convicted, and the allegations against them will be subject to investigation and court proceedings.
The DCI also pushed back against earlier claims that some suspects linked to the investigation had been arrested and subsequently released or helped to escape by security officers.
The agency said those allegations were false and had undermined public confidence in the investigation.
“Yesterday’s arrests, effected in Kampala, are the factual answer to that noise,” the DCI said in its statement.
However, investigators did not disclose further details about the identity of the person suspected of commissioning the killing or the possible motive behind Dr Mutiso’s murder.
Investigations into Dr Mutiso’s killing remain ongoing.
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