Joy for Othaya family as their ‘prodigal son’ returns

Five ululations that mark the birth of a boy among the Agikuyu community rocked Waweru Methu’s homestead in Othaya, Nyeri County when he returned home 13 years after he left.

His children, parents, siblings and friends welcomed their kin with open arms and jubilation when he returned home on Tuesday, carrying him shoulder high.

He had left home for Nairobi in search of greener pastures, but his hopes were dashed as the wealth he sought after was not forthcoming, which pushed him to the trenches of poverty to a point of tearing his family apart.

“They used to work with his wife but I have no idea what happened. They separated and he doesn’t speak of it much,” said his brother, Mr Peter Kariuki.

Failed marriage

Frustrated that his marriage did not work out and in quest to make it in life, Mr Methu moved to Narok and tried his hand in several businesses including carpentry to eke out a living. The odd but taxing jobs helped put food on his table and afforded him basic needs.

Years down the line, he had nothing to show for the time he had been away from his children and family; he feared the scorn he would be subjected to for returning home with nothing.

“I always wanted to come back home but I was ashamed I had not achieved what I went seeking and feared rejection and humiliation by my peers,” said the father of four, now 51 years old.

He further stated that the thoughts to return home were dashed because of the failure to amass wealth and the stressful process after parting ways with his wife.

Death of his father

“It has all along been my prayer that my son comes back home alive,” Esther Wairimu, his mother who is in her 70s, said amid tears of joy. All through the interview, she held her son, perhaps afraid he would disappear again.

“As the years went by we hoped against hope that he would return. There were days I thought he was dead and I couldn't stop crying,” said his 32-year-old daughter, who was named after his mother.

When it did not work out for him in Narok, Mr Waweru moved to the border town of Loita on the Kenya-Tanzania border.

It was here that he met Mr Duncan Ndegwa, a village mate who recognised him as the man whose family in Othaya had been looking for.

“When Ndegwa called us with the news, we asked him to come back home," Mr Kariuki said.

Mr Methu is however devastated that he missed out on a lot including the death of his father and wife. While his father died in 2018, his wife passed on in November this year.

“There are many people I know left home looking for better life and are living in destitution in the towns. I urge them to go back home and enjoy the company of their parents and siblings,” he said, adding that the would start a new life working in Othaya town.