Chief Government Pathologist Johansen Oduor has revealed that slain Nairobi lawyer Kyalo Mbobu sustained eight gunshot wounds during the attack that claimed his life.

Speaking after conducting the post-mortem on Thursday, September 11, 2025, Oduor said most of the shots struck the right side of Mbobu’s body at close range.

“Upon having examined the body, we found that Wakili was shot a total of eight times, and most of the gunshots came from the right side of the body,” Oduor said.

“We were able to recover two bullets, which have been given to the investigating officer for ballistic purposes.”

“So he bled; there’s a lot of bleeding because there was an injury to the neck vessels; there’s also injury to the spine. So these injuries were severe enough to cause death,” he noted.

Oduor explained that several of the wounds were graze injuries, with some bullets passing through the skin without penetrating deeply. However, others caused severe internal damage.

“Some of these bullet wounds were actually graze wounds; we found that they were just passing through the skin, but not getting into the body, but some had entry and exit.”

He also noted that he was shot at close range.

“Okay, first of all, in the terminal wound ballistics, there’s something called tattooing. Tattooing is if someone shoots you from nearby; you’ll find that there’ll be some associated injury on the skin, which is caused by gunpowder, which is coming out, and they’re hot.”

“So we could see also tattooing on the skin, especially on the chin,” he explained.

Injuries made survival impossible

Oduor clarified that while the chest cavity remained intact, the injuries to the jugular vein and spine left Mbobu with little chance of survival.

“I think he bled for some time, and you see, when you have an injury to the jugular vein, which is a very big vein, it requires someone who is near the hospital to survive. Otherwise, you’ll bleed until you die,” he said.

The findings come two days after Mbobu was gunned down in Nairobi on the night of Tuesday, 9 September 2025. According to witnesses, unknown assailants attacked him in a drive-by shooting before speeding off on a motorcycle.

The killing has shocked the legal fraternity and drawn strong condemnation from the Law Society of Kenya (LSK). In a statement, LSK President Faith Odhiambo described Mbobu’s death as a grave attack on the profession and the rule of law.

“This most unfortunate occurrence marks a sad day for the legal profession and for the entire country. We convey our heartfelt condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of Mr Mbobu,” she said.

Odhiambo praised Mbobu’s long career, which spanned over three decades. He was an advocate of the High Court, chairman of the Political Parties Dispute Tribunal, and a lecturer at the University of Nairobi. His scholarly contributions, especially in evidence law, are widely cited in legal practice.