In a puzzling turn of events, details have emerged revealing how slain lawyer Kyalo Mbobu was facing multiple court battles and crippling debts, painting a worrying picture of his lifestyle.
Sources privy to the information disclosed a trail of Mbobu’s unpaid loans, withheld client funds, and several court judgments that saw him grappling with debts despite his illustrious career.
At the time of his death, he was blacklisted by banks, chased by shylocks, and drowning in lawsuits. His fall from grace shows how lawyers, often hailed as champions of justice, can also be conmen in suits.
Slain Lawyer Kyalo Mbobu Bank Blacklisting and Debt Crisis
The late Senior Advocate Kyalo Mbobu was once among Kenya’s most respected lawyers. He served in high-level legal panels, was trusted with multimillion-dollar land deals, and rubbed shoulders with political power brokers. Yet behind the polished exterior was a man trapped in a dangerous web of debt and betrayal.
According to KTN, by 2025, Mbobu had been blacklisted by local banks. Unable to secure credit from formal institutions, he turned to shylocks and private lenders. What followed was a vicious cycle of borrowing, defaulting, and harassment from creditors.
In 2019, he borrowed Ksh10 million from a shylock but failed to repay. To ease pressure, he made payments amounting to Ksh24 million over two years. Despite this, the debt ballooned to Ksh72 million by the time of his death. The shylock’s interest rates had multiplied the principal almost ten times, leaving him with no escape.
In another case, Mbobu borrowed Ksh17 million from a Somali lender for a ranch project. The lender later demanded Ksh52 million in full repayment. This added to the pile of lawsuits that would eventually engulf the lawyer.
By the time gunmen shot him on Magadi Road on September 9, 2025, Mbobu was not just a lawyer under pressure—he was a man on the brink of financial ruin.
Legal Controversies and Withheld Funds
Mbobu’s financial troubles were not only from borrowing. They were also from the mishandling of client funds. In 2023, he was entrusted by a religious organisation with Ksh250 million for the sale of prime land in Karen. Instead of releasing the entire sum, he withheld Ksh97 million.
The organisation dragged him to Milimani Court, where Justice Francis Gikonyo ordered him to pay back the withheld money with interest. He was only allowed to keep Ksh8.7 million as legal fees. The ruling painted him as a lawyer who abused his clients’ trust for personal survival.
The trend continued. In 2024, another client sued him for Ksh40 million awarded through arbitration. The funds were deposited into his firm’s account but were never released. To his accusers, Mbobu had turned into a white-collar hustler, pocketing money meant for clients while masking himself with courtroom brilliance.
Such controversies explain why many Kenyans believe lawyers are not protectors of justice but predators feeding off vulnerable clients. Mbobu’s case is a glaring example of how trust in the legal profession is being destroyed from within.
Political Power Plays and Public Betrayal
Beyond debt and lawsuits, Mbobu was no stranger to controversy in national politics. He was among the team of powerful lawyers and operatives accused of storming the office of then-IEBC chair Wafula Chebukati.
Their mission, according to reports, was to pressure the electoral boss into manipulating results to produce a win for Raila Odinga during the 2022 presidential election. While Chebukati resisted, the attempt painted a chilling picture of how senior lawyers were willing to bend the law to serve political masters.
For a man who once sat on respected panels shaping Kenya’s legal frameworks, this was a betrayal of the very oath he had taken. Yet, despite his involvement in high-level cases and proximity to power, Mbobu was still driving himself around Nairobi without the trappings of wealth that usually accompany top lawyers.
This gap between his public image and private struggles raises a fundamental question—how many other celebrated lawyers are drowning in debts, lies, and political deals while pretending to uphold justice?
The Dark Reality Behind the Suit
Kyalo Mbobu’s assassination shocked the country, but his financial and legal mess shows a deeper rot in the legal profession. Lawyers, often admired for their brilliance and influence, can be just as corrupt and desperate as the politicians they advise.
Mbobu’s downfall was not just personal. It was symbolic. It showed how greed, dishonesty, and reckless borrowing can tear down even the brightest legal minds. From bank blacklisting to court judgments, his life became a cautionary tale.
He lived and died as a man trapped between power and ruin, a reminder that behind every polished suit and courtroom performance, there may lie a conman gambling with clients’ trust.
