Search continues for missing IEBC official Daniel Musyoka as his family worries

The family of missing Embakasi East Constituency Returning Officer Daniel Mbolu Musyoka has spoken out for the first time, explaining how the news about his disappearance has left them devastated.

In an interview with the Nation, Mr Musyoka’s wife, Tabitha, recounted her last moments with her husband, saying, she last spoke with him on Wednesday at noon, a day before he went missing.

Mr Musyoka,53, disappeared moments before announcing the results for the parliamentary and county assembly races at the East Africa School of Aviation tallying centre.

“We’re devastated but we strongly hope my husband will be found alive and safe,” Ms Musyoka told the Nation.

Search efforts

“When we talked, he did not sound disturbed, he was in high spirits and did not complain about anything,” she said.

“The day he disappeared, I tried calling him but he did not answer. I was later told by his cousin, who lives in Utawala, that he was missing,” she added.

Ms Musyoka, who spoke at their home in Nyonjoro in Bahati Constituency, Nakuru County, said the family is in agony following his disappearance, with search efforts having been extended to mortuaries, hospitals and other facilities.

The family wants detectives to expedite their investigations and help trace him.

Outgoing person

“We also appeal to the public to provide any information that can help trace him at any nearby police station,” she said, adding that Mr Musyoka left their Nakuru home on July 10 for his work station in Nairobi.

“He promised to come back after the elections,” his wife recalled. Neighbours describe Mr Musyoka as a humble, kind and outgoing person.

“He could not pass without greeting neighbours. We called him Baba Shiro,” Ms Regina Githua said. 

Mr Musyoka has worked for the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) for 13 years.

He was posted to Loitoktok but was later transferred to Embakasi East in May.

The family says that police reported that his mobile phone signal disappeared an hour after he went missing.

The phone’s last location was in Mihang’o,in Utawala, around 10am. 

By the time Mr Musyoka disappeared, he was about to declare the winners in the National Assembly and County Assembly contests.

Those who interacted with him said he excused himself to pick a call before he went missing. His deputy took over and announced the results.

Detectives from the Special Service Unit (SSU) have joined the investigations. 

On Friday, IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati announced that Mr Musyoka had gone missing and asked the police to expedite investigations.

Mr Chebukati said Mr Musyoka left his house around 9 am in the company of his security guard and arrived at the tallying centre at around 9.45am.

“I call upon the police to step up investigations to find him,” Mr Chebukati said at Bomas during an update on the presidential results.

Detectives from the SSU together with their colleagues from the Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau have visited the tallying centre where Mr Musyoka was last seen and are investigating to establish the people he last communicated with.

Caused jitters 

Mr Musyoka’s bodyguard, an officer attached to the Administration Police, has recorded a statement.

Mr Musyoka’s disappearance has caused jitters across the country, coming at a time when Kenyans are anxiously awaiting the announcement of presidential election results.

But even as investigators intensify the search, devastated family members are hoping that he will be found alive and well.

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