Slain lawyer and Senior Advocate Kyalo Mbobu left behind more than his high-profile career. At the time of his death on September 9, 2025, he was deep in debts and lawsuits totaling over Ksh 261 million.
The lawyer was blacklisted by banks and had turned to shylocks and credit institutions.
Many of these loans ballooned far beyond the original amounts due to penalties and interest.
In 2019, he borrowed Ksh 10 million from a shylock. He first made payments of about Ksh 24 million over two years. But then he defaulted and the debt kept rising. By the time of his death, it had grown to Ksh 72 million.
Kyalo Mbobu: 97M Client Funds in Question
Mbobu also faced serious legal battles linked to client money. In 2023, a religious organisation entrusted him with overseeing the sale of land worth Ksh 250 million in Karen. While he released Ksh 153 million, he withheld Ksh 97 million.
The organisation sued, and Justice Francis Gikonyo ordered him to repay the withheld sum plus accrued interest. He was only allowed to keep Ksh 8.7 million as legal fees.
More Shylock Debts
Mbobu’s financial woes deepened with more borrowing. A Somali shylock who lent him Ksh 17 million for a ranch project later demanded repayment of Ksh 52 million.
In another case in August 2024, a client sued him over Ksh 40 million awarded through arbitration. The money had been sent to Mbobu’s firm but was never released.
The Final Days
By September 2025, KTN reports that his debt stood at an estimated Ksh 261 million when the different loans, withheld funds, and penalties were added together. His reputation was overshadowed by these financial scandals.
On the night of September 9, he was gunned down along Magadi Road, Nairobi, by unknown assailants. An autopsy showed Kyalo Mbobu was shot eight times at close range, in what authorities described as a deliberate killing.
Kyalo Mbobu was once celebrated as a respected advocate. Yet behind the public image lay a hidden struggle with mounting debts, legal disputes, and pressure from creditors.
By Vivian K.