High Court Orders Psychiatric Assessment for Four Suspects in Murder of Psychiatrist Victoria Mutiso
Justice Kanyi Kimondo directed that the four be assessed at Mbagathi Hospital to determine whether they are mentally fit to stand trial for murder.
Photo: Courtesy.
By Robert Mutasi
The High Court has ordered four suspects, including Rose Mbithe, her two children Angela Mulwa and Chris Mulwa, and police officer Elijah Kibelion, to undergo psychiatric assessment for 14 days before they can take plea over the murder of psychiatrist Victoria Nthunya Mutiso.
Justice Kanyi Kimondo directed that the four be assessed at Mbagathi Hospital to determine whether they are mentally fit to stand trial for murder.
The suspects were separately informed that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) intends to charge them with the murder of Mutiso, who was killed in Kilimani, Nairobi.
However, the judge cautioned them against responding to the murder charge until the psychiatric assessments are completed.
The court set September 23, 2026, as the date when the four are expected to formally answer to the murder charges before Magistrate Alexander Muteti.
Mbithe and her children, Chris Mulwa and Angela Mulwa, were first informed of the intended murder charges before Kibelion was separately presented before the court.
Pending the assessments and plea-taking, the court ordered that Mbithe and Angela Mulwa be detained at Lang’ata Women’s Prison.
The judge declined a request by their lawyers to have the two suspects remain at a police station as their advocates pursue a separate civil dispute involving contested property allegedly linked to the murder case. The defence had argued that staying at a police station would allow easier access to their lawyers as they handle the property matter.
Justice Kimondo dismissed the application and directed that they be held at Lang’ata, as provided for by law for capital offences.
Chris Mulwa and police officer Elijah Kibelion were ordered to be held at Nairobi Remand Prison pending the outcome of the mental assessment.
The court further directed that Kibelion be assigned a pro bono lawyer to represent him during the murder trial, after it emerged that he was unrepresented.
The four suspects will remain in custody as they await psychiatric assessment and their formal plea.
Justice Kimondo directed that the matter be mentioned on September 23, when the court will establish whether the suspects are fit to plead and proceed with the formal charging process.
“The court cautioned them against pleading to the charges until they undergo mental assessment,” the court directed.
The four are accused of involvement in the murder of Mutiso, whose killing in Kilimani has triggered a major criminal investigation and separate legal proceedings over property linked to the case.
The murder has attracted wide public attention, with three suspects initially arrested in Uganda over the killing and detained for 30 days as investigations continued. Detectives later arrested three more suspects, bringing the total number of persons of interest to several, with Angela Mulwa among those at the centre of the probe.
The DPP had sought 14 days to detain lawyer Angela Mulwa to allow detectives to conclude investigations, before the State indicated it would prefer murder charges against the four.
The psychiatric assessment is a mandatory legal requirement in murder cases under Kenyan law to establish whether an accused person understands the charges facing them and is fit to take plea.
The post-mortem and forensic reports, alongside the mental assessment reports from Mbagathi Hospital, are expected to shape the next phase of the prosecution’s case when the suspects return to court on September 23.
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