What began as an ordinary conversation between a father and his daughter has now become a haunting memory after the young woman was found dead under mysterious circumstances, leaving her family searching for answers.
Peter Ndegwa, the father of Joy Kanini, has painfully recounted the final moments he shared with his daughter before her tragic death, a case that has shocked Kenyans and sparked widespread calls for justice.
According to Ndegwa, he met Joy in town on Monday and urged her to return home with the family. Concerned for her wellbeing, he hoped they could spend some time together. However, Joy told him she was occupied with work and still had several errands to complete before she could head home.
Neither of them knew that would be their final conversation.
Days later, panic began to set in when Ndegwa received an unexpected call from John Murithi, a man believed to have been Joy’s boyfriend. Murithi reportedly informed him that Joy had gone missing and could no longer be reached on her phone.
Alarmed by the news, the two men joined efforts to search for her. When their attempts proved unsuccessful, they reported the matter to the police, hoping authorities would help trace her whereabouts.
But as the search intensified, disturbing details began to emerge.
Ndegwa claims that while they were at the police station, Murithi mentioned reports circulating about a woman’s body that had allegedly been discovered stuffed inside a sack and taken to a mortuary. The comment left him uneasy, though he still clung to hope that his daughter was alive.
The grieving father was also shocked to discover that Murithi was in possession of Joy’s mobile phone. When questioned, Murithi allegedly explained that Joy had left the handset with him before she disappeared.
Moments later, according to Ndegwa, Murithi received a phone call, stepped outside the police station to answer it, and never returned.
The family’s worst fears would soon be confirmed.
Detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations later summoned relatives to identify a body that had been recovered in Tetu, Nyeri County. The heartbreaking exercise ended with the devastating confirmation that the remains belonged to Joy Kanini.
The young woman, a graduate of Nyeri National Polytechnic, had been living in the Kabisaa area of Nyeri and was working to build her future before her life was cut short.
As investigators continue to piece together the events leading to her death, her family is demanding answers and justice. Meanwhile, the mysterious circumstances surrounding Joy’s disappearance and killing have left many Kenyans stunned, with questions lingering over what truly happened during her final days.
