Puzzle of missing twins found 70km away from home
The twin brothers who had disappeared from their parents' home in Embu as they were about to go back to school. The twins have since been reunited with their family.
Two twin brothers who went missing earlier this week have reunited with their parents at Rubingazi estate in Embu County.
The Form Two boys – Leon Macharia and Ryan Mwenda, who attend Moi High School Mbiruri and Kangaru High School, respectively – disappeared on Tuesday.
They were found stranded in Ruiru, more than 70 kilometres away from their parents' home on Wednesday.
Embu West sub-county police boss Julius Kyumbule said the 15-year-old students said they had been abducted by two people, who gave them a lift and took them to Kasarani in Nairobi, where they were held hostage in a house for hours.
The boys reportedly managed to sneak out unnoticed and went to Ruiru, where they called their parents from a borrowed cellphone and told them about their ordeal.
The parents drove to Ruiru, picked up their sons and took them to the Itabua Police Station.
Officers questioned the boys and handed them over to their parents, who took them back home.
Police dismissed claims that the boys had been kidnapped.
“The students are lying. They had fled home, but they want us to believe that they had been kidnapped. The boys are required to be investigated further because they are not sincere," Mr Kyumbule said.
He said he sympathised with the boys and asked a police counsellor to talk to them before releasing them to their parents.
The Form Two boys disappeared from their parents' home at Rubingazi Estate, leaving them in shock.
Their mother Naisera Muthoni said her sons were supposed to report back to school on Tuesday but they vanished from home.
"My sons were ready to go back to school that very day but as I was preparing in my room to escort them, they disappeared. When I came out of my room I found their items neatly packed but they were nowhere to be seen," she said as tears rolled down her cheeks.
Ms Muthoni, a teacher at Nyangwa Boys High School, said they searched for the children in vain.
"We searched for the boys in the neighbourhood and other places but we didn't find them," she added.
Ms Muthoni described her identical twins as humble and highly disciplined and she could not understand how they got lost.
"My sons had no disciplinary issues and when I failed to find them I was shocked," she said.
But Ms Muthoni revealed that her sons always wanted to study in the same school.
“The two had been questioning why they were separated [and sent to different schools]. They wanted to study together in school but after they sat their Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exams they were admitted to different schools," she said.
Yesterday, Ms Muthoni said she was happy to reunite with her sons, adding that they would go back to school on Monday.
"I'm happy to have my sons safely back home. We are looking for the possibility of taking them to the same school so that their wishes can be fulfilled," she said.
The boys' father Joseph Mwaniki said his sons were being counselled at home before returning to school.
"We have counsellors who are talking to the boys and all will be well," Mr Mwaniki said.
Like the police boss, Mr Mwaniki doubted that his sons had been kidnapped.
"The boys left home because they don't want to be separated in school. Their desire is to learn in the same school and we are now discussing the matter," he said.
