Husband of slain psychologist Dr Victoria Mutiso speaks publicly for first time

Victoria Mutiso Africa Mental Health Research and Training Foundation. [File, Standard]

For the first time since renowned psychologist and mental health researcher Dr Victoria Nthunya Mutiso was gunned down in Nairobi last week, her husband, Prof David Ndetei, has broken his silence.

Prof Ndetei said that he has forgiven those responsible for the attack even as his family continues to mourn.

Speaking on Thursday during Dr Mutiso’s requiem service at CITAM Valley Road on Thursday, an emotional Ndetei said his faith would guide him through one of the darkest moments of his life.

“Yes, we are hurting very much, but I have forgiven those who hurt my family beyond human comprehension. We hold no bitterness against them. But God’s purpose will prevail, not theirs. He still sits on His throne. He will avenge for us. He will carry us through the storm,” he said.

His remarks marked the first public statement by the veteran psychiatrist since his wife was fatally shot in what  investigators believe was a targeted attack in Nairobi’s Upper Hill area on July 29.

Through the requiem service, family members remembered Dr Mutiso as the pillar who held generations together a loving mother, sister, aunt and mentor whose warmth, generosity and quiet strength touched everyone around her.

They described a woman who found joy even in life’s darkest moments, recalling how she narrated surviving an earlier alleged assassination attempt not with fear or bitterness, but with remarkable composure, humour and an unwavering faith.

To her family, she was a constant source of love, guidance and encouragement whose legacy, they said, would live on in the values she instilled and the memories she created.

Dr Mutiso, a respected  psychologist and internationally recognised mental health researcher, was ambushed by armed assailants riding on a motorcycle while driving along Ralph Bunche Road.

She died from gunshot wounds, sending ripples through Kenya’s medical and academic fraternity, prompting a complex homicide investigation.

In the days that followed, detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations launched an intensive probe with several suspects arrested.

Court documents filed by investigators have suggested the murder may be connected to a long-running property dispute, contested land ownership and protracted civil litigation.

Despite the ongoing criminal proceedings, Prof Ndetei chose not to dwell on the investigation during the requiem service. “God’s purpose will prevail, not theirs,” he said. “He still sits on His throne. He will avenge for us. He will carry us through the storm.” Dr Mutiso will be laid to rest today in Wanzuni, Mbooni in Makueni County.