The community administrator in the county government of Kakamega whose maimed body was retrieved in Kipkaren river four day after she went missing was finally laid to rest at her matrimonial home in Lugari sub county.
The family, friends leaders and colleagues of Joyce Mukhanya Mwofula gathered at her home in Bondeni village, Chekalini location to give her final send off in an event that was marred by anger and tears with questions of who murdered her hanging in the air.
The burial that was attended by the Kakamega county governor Wycliffe Oparanya, the county woman representative Elsie Muhanda, Ikolomani MP Bernard Shinali, several members of the County assembly among other leaders saw speaker after speaker call for justice for her death which they claimed was unnatural.
The mourners asked the national government not to allow the killers to go scot free as they castigated how the case was handled by the Lugari DCI office.
“We have seen the DCI Director George Kinoti lead his officers to investigate the murder of sergeant Kipyegon Kenei in Nairobi, but our daughter here disappeared under unclear circumstances. People have said a lot about her death but the DCI office has remained silent it is not helping us. I am appealing to Mr. Kinoti can you please bring homicide and suicide people to come here and assist us in unraveling death of this lady whom we really loved. This was a painful death. The killers must not be allowed to escape justice,” said a family member.
Joyce’s husband Mr. Joram Mukami said he received the news of his wife’s disappearance with shock and was yet to come to term with her death.
“It is so sad to lose a wife and mother of my children under such unclear circumstances, the time she died I was in Nairobi on official duty, we have had two postmortem reports but we cannot discuss them here because they need professional interpretations of which I am not a professional in that field,” said the husband.
Joyce’s father Mzee Samson Mwofula Toywa told mourners that his daughter’s death has left them with more questions than answers and they demand to know what really happened to her.
Kakamega County woman rep Elsie Muhanda said her death will not go unanswered and those who killed her will be haunted forever.
“We want to know why they killed Joyce and what mistake did she do? The death of Joyce will not go in vain her killers will run but they will never escape. It’s just a matter of time,” said Muhanda.
Kakamega County Governor Wycliffe Oparanya said the best way to honour Joyce is for those behind his death to face justice.
“I want to pass my condolences to the family, friends and the community at large but the best respect we can give her is for justice to prevail,” he said.
Oparanya rubbished police report indicating that Joyce’s death was suicidal and not murder.
“I cannot buy their theory that she committed suicide, there is no way a mother can leave a three months old baby in the house alone and go and commit suicide. If at all she threw herself in the river as the police claim then she could have thrown her baby there too,” said Oparanya.
The governor appealed for thorough investigation into the death and ensure justice prevailed.
Joyce who was the community area administrator for Mbajo community area in Chekalini ward, Lugari sub county went missing from her home on the night of 24th February, 2020 before her body which had serious injuries was discovered in Kipkaren river on 29th Feb, 2020.
