On the evening of September 9, 2025, the quiet stretch of Magadi Road in Nairobi was shattered by the staccato sounds of gunfire. A seasoned lawyer, Mathew Kyalo Mbobu, was riddled with bullets in what police describe as a professional hit job. Within seconds, a life was extinguished, a family thrown into grief, and the legal fraternity thrust into mourning.
By Thursday, the killing had escalated into a full-blown political scandal. Among the six suspects rounded up by detectives was a name that jolted Kenya’s political establishment: George Wainaina, the Secretary General of the once-mighty Kenya African National Union (KANU).
A Party Man in the Dock
For decades, George Wainaina has been the face of loyalty within KANU, the independence party that ruled Kenya for nearly four decades before being ousted in 2002. Though the party has faded from its former dominance, Wainaina had managed to keep it alive through sheer persistence and connections in Nairobi’s power corridors.
But this week, Wainaina’s reputation collapsed under the weight of a murder investigation. Detectives confirmed that he was arrested alongside five others as a suspect in Mbobu’s assassination.
The motive, investigators believe, is tied to money Mbobu allegedly owed to shadowy figures. Police say the suspects — including Wainaina — were part of meetings with the lawyer just hours before his death.
“It is too early to say what exactly Wainaina’s role was,” a senior investigator told SIAYA TODAY, adding “But the fact remains: he was at the table before the bullets were fired.”
Blood Money and Counting Machines
The murder probe has uncovered staggering financial trails. During raids on the suspects’ homes, police seized such large amounts of cash that they were forced to deploy money-counting machines at Nairobi Area headquarters.
“This isn’t petty debt. We’re talking about millions moving between hands, some in cash, some in questionable deals,” another officer said.
The presence of so much unexplained money has fueled speculation that the killing may be linked not just to personal debts, but to bigger financial networks where politics, law, and crime intersect.
The Lawyer Who Knew Too Much?
Colleagues describe Mbobu as a sharp, relentless advocate — but also a man who walked dangerous financial lines. Several of his clients have now been questioned, with police focusing on a meeting held at a restaurant along Jakaya Kikwete Road just hours before the murder.
One source close to the investigation says Mbobu may have been caught in a dangerous balancing act between clients, creditors, and powerful figures, with his assassination possibly intended to silence him.
The killers, riding on a motorcycle, fired eight bullets at close range, striking Mbobu in the neck and chest. The attack bore chilling resemblance to past high-profile assassinations, including that of MP Ongondo Were early this year.
State Response: A Murder That Won’t Be Buried
The murder has rattled the government. Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen, who revealed Mbobu had once been his teacher, condemned the killing as “a terrible thing to happen to our country.”
“This is not just about one lawyer. It’s about whether the state can protect its citizens from organized crime,” Murkomen declared during a security forum in Migori.
Director of Public Prosecutions Mulele Ingonga has ordered police to submit a full report within seven days, a rare fast-track directive that underscores the political sensitivity of the case.
“The ODPP will not rest until every piece of evidence is identified, collected, and preserved in strict accordance with the law,” Ingonga said.
A High-Stakes Test for Justice
As the investigation unfolds, three things remain unresolved:
1. Who ordered the hit? The killers are still at large, and the murder weapon has not been recovered.
2. Was this about money, politics, or both? The lines between financial debts and political rivalries are blurred.
3. Will justice be served? Kenyans have seen high-profile assassinations before — often ending in half-answers and unpunished masterminds.
For now, the arrest of George Wainaina — a man once seen as a custodian of Kenya’s political past — has transformed the Mbobu case from a tragic killing into a national reckoning.
As Mbobu’s family mourns and the legal fraternity demands answers, Kenyans are left to wonder: is this case a chance to finally unravel the shadowy networks where money, politics, and murder intertwine — or will it become just another unresolved chapter in Kenya’s bloody political history?
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