Without a trace: How our dad was abducted by 'his friends'
Ms Ann Wanjuku (right) with her Mother- in- law Margret Muthoni whom their relative went missing two months ago during an interview at their Dungiri village home in Subukia Constituency in Nakuru County, Mr Jeremiah Mwangi was picked by unknown people and has not been seen or heard from.
On March 13 at 7pm, five men stormed Ms Ann Wanjiku’s homestead in Dungiri village, Subukia constituency, as she was preparing dinner for her family in a kitchen adjacent to their main house.
Ms Wanjiku, who was with her two children aged eight and five, said the men entered her compound because the gate was open as she was waiting for her husband Mr Jeremiah Mwangi, who had earlier left for a car wash in Maili Sita.
The men introduced themselves as Mr Mwangi’s friends and proceeded to the poultry house, claiming that they were looking for something but did not disclose what it was.
After a thorough but unsuccessful search, two of the men went back to a waiting saloon car and brought Mr Mwangi. They ordered him to help in the search for something that Ms Wanjiku still doesn’t know.
The men had threatened Ms Wanjiku that she’d face dire consequences if she kept asking questions about what they were looking for or what crime her husband had committed.
After failing for the second time, the men angrily dragged Mr Mwangi, a boda boda operator, back into the car and drove off.
Ms Wanjiku says she called neighbours for help. They responded to the distress call, but the abductors had already vanished. She has not seen her husband since.
She tried calling him but the call was answered by someone else, who told her that her husband’s phone was charging. It was later switched off at about 8pm.
“They introduced themselves as my husband’s friends but when they were taking him away, he screamed and called my name, telling me that they had ‘arrested’ him, but they beat him up and he did not speak again,” she said.
“I do not know who those people were and whether they were police officers. I had never seen them before and I know my husband’s friends.”
She added that the men had not identified themselves as police officers and whether they were taking him away as part of investigations into a crime.
Ms Ann Wanjiku holding a photo of her husband Jeremiah Mwangi who went missing two months ago after he was picked by unknown people during an interview at her Dungiri home in Subukia Constituency in Nakuru County.
“It’s very painful that a person can just disappear into thin air and never to be found again, but I hope he is still alive.”
The family reported the matter to the police, who are investigating, said Nakuru North sub-county Directorate of Criminal Investigations boss Wesley Langat.
He said the Criminal Research Investigation Bureau (CRIB) is helping to unravel the mystery by analysing his phone data.
But he could not say whether the abductors were police officers as they did not identify themselves as such and were in civilian clothes
“We took up the matter. We have requested the forensic analysis from DCI headquarters to establish the last signals of his phone and if it has been used since then,” Mr Langat said.
“So far the family has not received anonymous calls requesting ransom or threatening them but we are on top of investigations.”
Ms Wanjiku said her husband had left home at 2pm heading to a car wash in Mili Sita. She did not see him until that evening when he was brought home by unidentified men and later taken away.
She said her husband had not disclosed to her that his life was in danger, adding that there were no wrangles in the family before his disappearance.
They reported the matter at the Bahati Police Station under OB number 29/13/03/2022
The mother of two now hopes that detectives will help unravel her husband's mysterious disappearance and return him alive, saying that she is seven months pregnant and the burden of raising the children will fall on her.
Mr Mwangi’s mother Margret Muthoni said her son was supposed to drive his younger brother for errands in Maili Kumi but he left earlier before the two could meet.
She said that she only heard screams from Mr Mwangi’s homestead while she was having supper. When she went to her son’s house, Ms Wanjiku told her he had been taken away by unidentified men.
Ms Muthoni, who was yet to come to terms with his son's disappearance, said he had never been reported by villagers as being involved in any mischievous behaviour or stealing anyone’s property.
She said Mr Mwangi focused on fending for his family and even worked on people's farms to raise money when he was not riding his motorbike.
Ms Muthoni said the family has been searching for him and the police had distanced themselves from his kidnapping.
“We are still in the dark. We just want the police to come out and tell us if they have my son. If he had committed a crime, he should be produced in court. That way we will be at peace knowing where he is," she said.
“We are now living in fear. We don't even sleep at night. What if they come back and take another person? All we want is to see him back with us, nothing more."
