This archive report was first published on 17 July 2021.
Joannah Stutchbury, a renowned environmentalist, was tragically shot dead outside her Kiambu house on Thursday, July 15, 2021. Her untimely demise has sparked widespread outrage and calls for justice.
According to Peter Murumbi, Stutchbury's houseboy, the deceased had been threatened by an MP from Nakuru County in 2018. The MP's actions were allegedly linked to a land dispute, where some developers wanted to build a road through the forest, a move that Stutchbury strongly opposed.
Murumbi recalled that Stutchbury had sat on an excavator in protest, which led to a confrontation with the developers. 'It was early in the morning when we heard the engine sound of the excavator. So we all went to check what was happening. She confronted them and she was threatened by people who had guns on that day,' Murumbi told Citizen TV.
Following the incident, Stutchbury reported the matter to the police. In a social media post, she wrote, 'The developer even pulled a gun on me telling me that he was going to kill me if I did not go home. Yeah! Right! Picked the wrong little lady.'
Conservationist Dr Paula Kahumbu alleged that Stutchbury's murder was related to her fight for environmental conservancy. Tourism CS Najib Balala condemned the incident and called for swift investigations, stating, 'It is a Constitutional right of every individual to give their opinions, which may not always be to the liking of others but there are civilized ways of agreeing to disagree without resorting to such levels of violence.'
