Shocking new details have emerged in the gruesome Kanyonyoo double murder, revealing that one of the women gunned down by a police officer had left her matrimonial home under false pretenses — claiming she was going to look for work in Kitengela, only to end up meeting her secret lover in Kitui.
Joy Mutisya, a married mother of two, was fatally shot alongside her friend, Jane Ndanu, in what investigators are calling a domestic confrontation gone tragically wrong. The suspect — a police constable attached to Kanyonyoo Police Station — remains on the run, even as anguished families demand justice.
According to her in-laws, Joy had informed them she was heading to Kitengela in search of employment. Instead, she secretly traveled to Kanyonyoo to meet the officer believed to be her boyfriend. The affair ended in bloodshed.
“Askari alikuwa anataka kupiga Joy, sasa huyo madam alikuwa anamzuia asimpige ndio akawaua wote hapo hapo,” recounted witness Stanley Kiilu, describing the terrifying moments before the fatal shots were fired.
Investigations show the officer, armed with an AK-47 rifle, tracked Joy to the home of her friend Jane Ndanu. The confrontation quickly turned deadly — the officer opened fire, killing both women on the spot in what family members now call a cold-blooded execution.
Joy, who was married to James Mutisya and was a mother to two children — one in Form Three and the other in Grade Six — had long been described by her in-laws as a loving and dependable wife. Her sudden death, and the secret life now unfolding in public view, has left the family broken and searching for answers.
“Amepigwa risasi mingi sana mpaka hatuelewi… alikuwa anafunzwa namna gani kama anaweza fyatua risasi na kuua wasichana wawili,” lamented her father-in-law, Jonathan Waema.
The officer, whose name remains withheld pending arrest, fled the scene immediately after the killings, abandoning his rifle in a nearby thicket. Despite a police manhunt, he remains at large, having successfully evaded capture for several days.
Kitui Police Commander Martha Nge’tich confirmed the officer had quarreled with Joy before the murder.
“Alikosana na girlfriend wake, kisha baadaye akamuua na pia kumuua yule alikuwa rafiki wake na kutoroka,” she said.
The weight of the tragedy has crushed Joy’s young family, especially her husband, who has been left to raise their children amid sorrow, shame, and mounting questions.
“Sisi hatujawai kuwa na shida na huyu msichana wetu… hatujui ilifikaje ndio huyu askari akaua huyu bibi wa kijana wangu,” said Waema.
Other relatives have expressed frustration with what they see as an internal system that protects rogue officers instead of holding them accountable.
“Polisi wale wanafaa watulinde, sasa ndio wanatuua,” decried Peter Mwania.
“Ameuawa na mtu wa serikali, serikali yenyewe ndio inachunguza, sasa hatuelewi lakini tunataka haki,” added Waema.
As autopsy preparations get underway ahead of planned burials, the families of Joy and Jane are holding onto a single hope — that the officer who turned a family’s world upside down will be caught and brought to justice.
