Wamuzi News Ke
In a shocking escalation of urban violence, respected lawyer and governance expert Mathew Kyalo Mbobu was fatally gunned down in a calculated drive-by attack that has rattled Nairobi’s legal community and heightened fears over professional safety.
Trailed and Executed
According to police, Mbobu was followed from Galleria Mall along Lang’ata/Magadi Road while stuck in traffic. Two assailants on a motorcycle pulled alongside his vehicle. Without warning, the gunman shattered the car’s windshield and opened fire at close range, striking Mbobu multiple times in the chin. He slumped lifelessly in the driver’s seat, and the assailants fled immediately—disappearing into the night.
Witnesses described the scene as chilling. Peris Wambugu, who was traveling nearby, recounted how a hooded gunman disembarked from the bike and fired the fatal shot before sprinting past her bus:
“The shooter escaped via a waiting boda boda rider… I am still shaking.”
Professional Luminary Silenced
Mbobu’s death is more than a city tragedy—it’s a blow to Kenya’s legal and academic fabric. A lecturer at the University of Nairobi and former chair of the Political Parties Dispute Tribunal, he was a luminary in corporate governance, arbitration, and dispute resolution.
National Outcry and Institutional Alarm
The Law Society of Kenya called the killing a “pre-determined assassination” and summoned the DCI to launch a swift, all-hands-on-deck investigation. LSK President Faith Odhiambo warned that such violence threatens the independence and safety of legal practitioners.
A City on Edge
The attack has revived painful memories of similar executions, like that of MP Ong’ondo Were. The growing pattern—civilians, including public figures, being killed in motorbike-linked ambushes—is feeding public anxiety over Kenya’s urban security.
