Prominent Kenyan clinical psychologist and mental health researcher Dr Victoria Nthunya Mutiso was shot dead by gunmen in a suspected targeted attack in Nairobi on Wednesday morning.
Police said Dr Mutiso was ambushed near Kenyatta National Hospital while travelling in a taxi.
According to investigators, a four-wheel-drive vehicle blocked the taxi before two gunmen riding on a motorcycle opened fire at close range.
She sustained critical gunshot wounds and was rushed to hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
She was second wife to Professor David Musyimi Ndetei who is a prominent Kenyan psychiatrist and academic, serving as Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Nairobi since 1995. He is the Founding Director of the Africa Mental Health Research and Training Foundation (AMHRTF) and has pioneered work in community mental health, epidemiology, and policy across Afric
Preliminary investigations indicate the assailants had trailed Dr Mutiso from her home near the Junction area in Nairobi’s Kilimani neighbourhood before carrying out the attack.
Nairobi Police Commander Issa Mohamud described the killing as a targeted murder, saying detectives were pursuing crucial leads.
Crime scene investigators recovered a spent cartridge from the scene, which has been forwarded for ballistic examination as part of the ongoing investigation.
Police revealed that Dr Mutiso had previously reported threats to her life at Kilimani Police Station after armed men riding on a motorcycle allegedly pointed a gun at her while she was caught in traffic. Investigations into that incident were still ongoing.
Detectives are also examining reports of a family dispute over property, which they believe could be among the possible motives behind the killing.
Senior police commanders visited the scene as investigations intensified.
Another team visited her home as part of the probe and talked to her family. She was a mother of two. She planned to solemnize her marriage in a week.
Dr Mutiso was a respected figure in Kenya’s mental health sector and served as Head of Research at the Africa Mental Health Research and Training Foundation (AMHRTF). She specialized in youth mental health, substance abuse and the integration of mental health services into community healthcare.
Her work focused on child and adolescent mental health, including the development of culturally appropriate tools and interventions aimed at promoting mental well-being and preventing the onset of severe mental illness among young people, particularly in underserved urban informal settlements and rural communities.
Throughout her career, Dr Mutiso led and co-investigated numerous research projects on mental illness, neurological disorders and substance abuse in collaboration with local and international partners.
She also co-led the NIHR Global Health Research Group project “HOPE,” which focused on homelessness and severe mental illness in Africa, and authored numerous publications that significantly contributed to public mental health research in Kenya.
Her death has sent shockwaves through Kenya’s mental health and research community as police continue efforts to identify and arrest those responsible for the killing.
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