The High Court has ordered Rose Mbithe Mulwa and her two children to appear physically as files are consolidated for a joint plea with a fourth accused.
Rose Mbithe Mulwa and her two children, Angela Mulwa and Chris Mulwa, are due before the High Court in Nairobi on September 29 to enter pleas in the murder case involving psychiatrist Dr Victoria Nthunya Mutiso.
Justice Alexander Muteti ordered the three to be presented in court at noon after being informed that they had not joined Wednesday’s proceedings by video link. They are expected to answer the charges alongside a fourth accused, Police Constable Elijah Kibelion Kimoi.
Court orders physical appearance
A prison officer told the court that Mbithe and Angela, who are being held at Lang’ata Women’s Prison, had declined to participate virtually. Justice Muteti then directed that they attend court in person for plea-taking.
The court also heard that the accused persons’ files would be consolidated so that those charged over Dr Mutiso’s death could enter their pleas together. The three family members had previously appeared before the High Court but had not pleaded to the charges.
The September 29 appearance is therefore intended to move the case to the plea stage, following the earlier postponement and the arrangements for a joint appearance.
Mental assessments delayed pleas
The Director of Public Prosecutions approved murder charges against Mbithe, Angela and Chris after preliminary investigations by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations. Their scheduled plea-taking was subsequently delayed.
Justice Kanyi Kimondo had directed that the accused undergo mental assessments to determine whether they were fit to plead. Kimoi was later added to the murder case.
The prosecution accuses the four of jointly killing Dr Mutiso on July 29, 2026, at about 9.30am on Mawensi Road in Kilimani, Nairobi County. It alleges that they acted with other people who have not been brought before the court.
The charge is murder under Section 203, read together with Section 204, of the Penal Code. The allegations remain unproved, and the accused are expected to respond formally when they appear before Justice Muteti.
Investigators examine circumstances of killing
Dr Mutiso, a psychiatrist who previously served as director of the African Institute of Mental and Brain Health, was shot dead while travelling in a taxi in Nairobi.
Before the killing, she had reportedly lodged a report about an earlier encounter near Junction Mall on Ngong Road, where two armed men on a motorcycle allegedly confronted her.
Investigators have also been examining a long-running property dispute involving Dr Mutiso’s family and Mbithe, who was previously married to Dr Mutiso’s husband, Professor David Musyimi Ndetei.
That alleged dispute forms part of the prosecution’s account of the circumstances under investigation. It does not establish responsibility for the killing, and the murder allegations against all four accused remain subject to proof in court.
