Details Emerge of Lawyer Mbobu’s Massive Ksh261 Million Debt and Legal Troubles

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.
According toKTN, at the time of his death, the deceased had been blacklisted by local banks and had resorted to borrowing from shylocks and credit companies.
The investigative piece revealed that most of the loans acquired by the lawyer were often increased up to ten times more than the principal amount.
In 2019, Mbobu borrowed Ksh10 million from a shylock; however, he defaulted on the payment. Despite the default, he made frequent payments to reduce the deficit.
Reports indicate that he made payments amounting to Ksh24 million over two years. He later stopped paying the debt, which had multiplied to about Ksh72 million by the time of his death.
In yet another case, in 2023,Lawyer Kyalo faced a judgment at the Milimani Court. The matter began after a religious organisation hired him to oversee the sale of two prime parcels of land in Karen valued at Ksh250 million.
The entire purchase price was paid into Kyalo’s company account. While he released Ksh153 million, he withheld Ksh97 million. Following this, the organisation sued him, demanding the withheld money, including the principal amount, interest accrued, and penalties.
In the ruling delivered by Justice Francis Gikonyo, he was ordered to pay the withheld Ksh97 million and interest accrued, but the court allowed him to retain only Ksh8.7 million as legal fees.
Despite the ruling, Kyalo’s troubles escalated further after a Somali shylock who had lent him Ksh17 million for a ranch project demanded full payment, amounting to Ksh52 million.
In a separate case in August last year, another client sued Mbobu over Ksh40 million awarded through arbitration. The funds were sent to his firm but were never released by the time of his death.
Mbobu died on Tuesday, September 9, after unknown people trailed him and gunned him down while he was heading home along Magadi Road in Nairobi.
According to an autopsy report released on Thursday, September 11,he was shot eight times in the attackthat led to his death, with Chief Government Pathologist Johansen Oduor revealing that Mbobu’s shooting appeared to be intentional and done at close range.