Kirinyaga family in agony after school principal goes missing
Olokurto Secondary School Principal Sebastian Njiru Gikunju.
A secondary school principal in Kirinyaga County has disappeared, raising suspicions that he might have been kidnapped.
The family of Mr Sebastian Njiru Gikunju, 56, has asked the police to help find him.
Mr Gikunju is the head of Olokurto Secondary School in Narok. He left for a principals' conference in Meru on Tuesday last week and has not been seen since.
His wife, Anne Njiru, said her husband went to the couple’s home in Mutithi village, Mwea, in a car that did not belong to him.
Mr Gikunju explained to his family that his vehicle, a Mitsubishi Pajero, had developed a mechanical problem and he had left it at a repair garage. He said he had borrowed the one he was driving.
He later left for Meru, but he did not return home.
Ms Njiru doubted that her husband reached the conference venue.
"I suspect my husband was kidnapped on his way to the conference by unknown criminals for reasons that are yet to be established," said Ms Njiru, a teacher in the area.
She said her husband’s mobile phone was ringing on Tuesday but it was off on Wednesday.
Family members lamented that they had searched for Mr Gikunju but did not find him.
The matter was reported at the Kiamaciri Police Station.
Mwea West police boss Wilson Koskei said they were investigating.
"It is true we received a report of a missing principal and we have commenced investigations to establish his whereabouts," he said.
He urged residents to volunteer information that could help police in their investigations.
He asked the family to be patient and wait for the probe to be concluded.
Mr Koskei said Narok and Meru police officers had been alerted about the principal’s disappearance.
Mr Gikunju’s family said they had not slept since he failed to return home.
"We are stressed because we can't find our brother," said Ms Agnes Njoki, a sister of Mr Gikunju.
Ms Njoki said even Mr Gikunju's vehicle could not be found in the garages they had searched.
The incident comes weeks after Stanley Njiru, a retired senior police officer, went missing from his home in Embu on September 2 before he was found dead in Isiolo.
