There is little in the public domain about Kenya’s Second Lady Dr Joyce Gatiiria Njagi Kithure. Even the link to her profile on the University of Nairobi website appears to have been removed, but her name appears on the list of staff in the University’s Department of Chemistry with her designation as a senior lecturer.

So low key is the life of the woman suddenly thrust into the spotlight as Kenya’s Second Lady when her husband assumed office in 2024 that it was the first time many had heard of her.

This week, however, her office found itself in the spotlight when the Controller of Budget’s (CoB) analysis on budget spending showed that the Office of the Spouse of the Deputy President incurred an expenditure of Sh44.52 million in the first six months of the 2025/26 financial year.

The Controller of Budget has, however, since said this was an error and that the DP spouse’s office did not spend the money has earlier reported.

“My office regrets the error and has since taken the earliest opportunity to correct it in the republished report on the OCOB website,” Daily Nation quoted Controller of Budget Dr Margaret Nyakang’o as saying, calling it “incorrectly mapped expenditure”.

Who is Dr Joyce Kithure?

The second lady emerged from a life of quiet academic dedication and success to become one of the most prominent women in the country as she took on the Deputy President’s wife role.

She has been married to her fellow learned husband Deputy President Professor Kithure Kindiki since 2001 and they share three children together.

Her calm presence has often drawn public admiration if not wonder, as she has steered clear from irrelevant political semantics, displaying her intellectual depth.

Trained initially as a teacher of chemistry and mathematics, she spent years in secondary schools across Kenya, including institutions in Kirinyaga, Nandi, Kericho, and Machakos, where she built a reputation as a diligent and inspiring educator.

Her passion for science and education led her into academia, where she later joined the University of Nairobi and rose to the position of Senior Lecturer in the Department of Chemistry.

The second lady, holds a BSc in Chemistry, an MSc in Analytical Chemistry, and a PhD in Environmental Chemistry, cementing her place among Kenya’s distinguished women in science.

Pairing with her husband who is similarly an ambitious academic that transitioned into public service and national politics, their matrimonial union is often described as grounded in faith, mutual respect, similar academic.

Together they are raising three daughters, Imani, Neema and Mwende

During the inauguration of her husband, Kenyans took note of her composed demeanor and modest style.

Although she has maintained a low-key public life, many observers see in her a new kind of Second Lady, the one whose influence is deeply based not in politics, but in scholarly achievement and service.