The Lower Eastern Times Opening The Third Eye
Detectives have arrested two suspects — a woman and her son — as investigations intensify into the assassination-style killing of prominent clinical psychologist and mental health researcher Dr. Victoria Nthunya Mutiso, who was fatally shot in a daring attack in Nairobi.
The suspects were taken into custody on Thursday and are currently being questioned as police work to establish a motive behind the shooting, which has stunned Kenya’s medical and research community.
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Investigators believe Dr. Mutiso was deliberately targeted in a well-coordinated ambush that unfolded shortly after she arrived at the Africa Institute of Mental and Brain Health in Upper Hill on Wednesday morning. She had taken a taxi from Tanga Heights Apartments on Bamboo Lane, off Riara Road, heading to the institute’s offices at Mawensi Gardens off Matumbato Road.
According to the taxi driver, the trip took a deadly turn when a black Toyota Prado partially obstructed the road, forcing the vehicle to slow down. Moments later, a gunman approached the rear left side of the taxi — where Dr. Mutiso was seated — and opened fire before escaping the scene. Police say the taxi had first been blocked by a four-wheel-drive vehicle, after which two attackers on a motorcycle carried out the close-range shooting.
Dr. Mutiso sustained severe gunshot wounds and was rushed to hospital, where she later succumbed. Early findings suggest the attackers had been tracking her movements from her home near the Junction area in Kilimani before launching the assault.
Detectives have classified the killing as a targeted attack and say they are following up on key leads. A spent cartridge recovered from the scene has been sent for ballistic testing.
Police further disclosed that Dr. Mutiso had previously filed a threat report at Kilimani Police Station after armed men on a motorcycle allegedly brandished a gun at her while she was stuck in traffic — a case that remained under investigation at the time of her death.
Authorities are now probing possible links between the killing and a separate incident reported along Magadi Road last year. They are also examining a reported family property dispute as a potential motive.
A separate team of detectives visited Dr. Mutiso’s home on Thursday to interview relatives as part of the ongoing investigation.
Dr. Mutiso, a mother of two, had been due to formalize her marriage within the week. She was the second wife of a prominent Kenyan psychiatrist and University of Nairobi Professor of Psychiatry.
Beyond her personal life, Dr. Mutiso held a respected position in Kenya’s mental health field as Head of Research at the Africa Mental Health Research and Training Foundation (AMHRTF). Her research centered on youth mental health, substance abuse, and the integration of mental health services into community healthcare systems. She also specialized in child and adolescent mental health, developing culturally sensitive interventions to support well-being in underserved urban informal settlements and rural areas.
Throughout her career, Dr. Mutiso led and co-led numerous local and international research initiatives focused on mental illness, neurological disorders, and substance abuse. She also co-led the NIHR Global Health Research Group’s HOPE project examining homelessness and severe mental illness in Africa, and authored multiple publications that left a lasting impact on mental health research in Kenya.
