Where are they? Families wait in agony for loved ones who disappeared

The number of people who have gone missing without trace appears to be on the rise in the recent past.

It is as if they simply fall off the face of the earth, never to be seen again, dead or alive. The result is that their families and friends live in both anguish and hope every day, engaged in painful and often unrewarding journeys in searching of their missing loved ones, expecting that the dawn will come when they will be re-united.

Some of those who disappeared have been missing for years, and with no clues whatsoever on which their families can rely to trace them. Today, the Daily Nation brings you the heart-rending stories of some of those who have gone missing and are yet to be found.

George Martin Odhoj

Mr Odhoj, a design engineer, went missing in 2011. It is said that he left work at around 8.40pm, and called his daughter at about 9.30pm to open the gate for him, an indicator that he was just a few minutes away from home. However, he never drove into his compound, and that was the last phone call he made to his family.

Mr Odhoj, who was working for Kenya Power in Nakuru before his disappearance, is said to have gone to a restaurant on Moses Mudavadi Road in Nakuru for refreshments after work.

He left after a short while, and proceeded to a shopping centre on Game Park Road, behind Bondeni Police Station, where he spent about 10 minutes.

His wife, Christine Odhoj, is still hopeful that he will be found although his car, a white Toyota Premio, was found in Ndarugu River about four kilometres from his home.

Louisa Vusaka Karani

Louisa was a fourth year student at the University of Nairobi. When she left her hostel on October 12, 2011, she told her colleagues that she was going to visit a close friend, and that she would be back after two days. She never returned.

Her mother, Ms Pauline Karani, describes Louisa as a thoughtful daughter who regularly called her. Her phone went dead on the day she went missing. Ms Karani says the search for her daughter has yielded nothing.

Winnie Wairimu, 16

The Form Two student at Tumu Tumu Girls High School in Karatina, Nyeri, left home for school on Saturday, May 17. Two weeks later, the school called her parents to find out why she had not reported.

Her parents said that she was last seen at the Tea Room bus stop in Nairobi’s River Road. She was wearing her school uniform. She has since not been seen.

Merolyn Mwango Onyancha, 31

Merolyn was last seen on June 14, last year, at Mathare North Area Two. She was working for G4S as a security guard and was based at the Aga Khan Hospital.

The day before she went missing, she had complained that she was unwell and gone home early after excusing herself. The next day, her sister, Delvin Onyancha, tried to call her but her phone was off. She decided to go to Merolyn’s house to check on her.

“She wasn’t in, and neighbours said they had not seen her that day.”

To this day, she is yet to be seen.

Merolyn lived alone.

Jason Ochieng’ Nyamwanda, 22

Jason, who attended Mang’u High, was one of the top students in the 2010 KCSE examination, with a mean grade of 86.6 points.

On June 21, 2012, the 22-year-old left his home in Kisumu to visit his uncle, who lived in Kilimani, Nairobi. Eight days later, he walked out of his uncle’s house and has never been seen since.

“When he left, he was wearing grey trousers, a brown and black checked shirt and was barefoot,” says his uncle. Jason was a student at the University of Nairobi when he went missing.

Julius Onyango Juma

He was a newspaper employee based in Kisumu. On the day of his disappearance, on November 4, 2012, a vehicle in which he was travelling lost control and plunged into the Ekero river. That was the last time he was seen.

Apart from Mr Juma, all others in the private car he was travelling in were accounted for.

Tania Margaret Omondi

She has been missing since November 21, 2011. A witness says that she was picked up from her school in Umoja’s Innercore Estate in Nairobi by two women. At the time, she was six years old.

That evening, her parents received messages from two different numbers, demanding Sh2 million in exchange for the girl.

Police arrested five suspects a few days after the kidnapping but Tania was never found. The main suspect in the case, John Oyamo Wanetia, went missing after he was released on bail.

Kibet Korir

Kibet, a fourth year Law student at the University of Nairobi, disappeared on October 19, 2013. Fellow students say that they did not see him on the day he went missing. However, he is reported to have had drinks in a bar in Kahawa Wendani that week on a Friday.

His brother, Mr Peter Korir, says that Kibet’s phone went off two days earlier. Since then, his relatives have been to various hospitals and mortuaries but have turned up without any information about him. They remain optimistic that he is still alive and he will one day return to his family.

David Wisdom Wanderi, 5

Five-year-old David was playing outside his house with friends on June 13, 2013 when he disappeared. His elder sister, who was in the house cleaning, went outside at noon, but did not find him. She informed neighbours, and together, they all started searching for him.

An hour’s search yielded nothing. They then reported to the police. Since then, there has been no information or clues about his whereabouts.

Gilly Githua, 28

Gilly went missing on the night of January 23, 2013. According to his best friend of 15 years, John Paul Kyule, Gilly had gone to survey his farm in Pesi, Nyahururu, where he was keeping goats.

Kyule says that Gilly planned to wind up the project since it was not giving him the expected returns. The last person Gilly talked to was his girlfriend, at around 7pm, on the day he went missing.

A search party was formed to look for him, but he was not found - not even after a spirited social media campaign was launched shortly after his disappearance.

Gilly is described by his best friend as an easy-going person but a shrewd businessman who had done well for himself, having invested in several farms in Thika and Nyahururu. He also had a spare parts shop on River Road.

To this day, his whereabouts remain a mystery.

Bogonko Bosire

The former journalist and blogger was last seen last September 19 in a bar in the city centre. Bosire, who ran the Jackal News website disappeared a day before the Westgate Mall attack. His parents, David and Esther Bosire, said that they had searched for him everywhere, including hospitals and mortuaries, but are yet to find him.

“We reported his disappearance to the police,” his father told the Nation. “It has been months since he went missing – we have searched in numerous places, but have no clue what could have happened to him.”

Mohamed AbdulKarim, alias C-Zar

The teen sensation hit the Kenyan music scene with a bang, with his track, Amka Ukatike. With two ‘Chaguo La Teeniez’ awards, C-Zar was looking all set to be the next big thing. He went missing on October 13, 2006, one week before his KCSE exam were to start.

He had reportedly gone to visit a friend when he disappeared. His father, Mr Makasi Abdul Karim, describes C-Zar as his “child, friend, and confidant”. The search for the young musician has taken the family far and wide – from Eastleigh to Tanzania, to hospitals, mortuaries and police stations. C-Zar simply fell off the face of the earth. He would have been 25 years old this year.

Josphat Njuguna Ng’ang’a

The retired Primary School headteacher went missing on Tuesday, November 29, 2005 – nine years ago on .

His wife of 40 years, Lillian Waithera Njuguna, says that her husband, a businessman, spent most of his time in Nairobi, and would travel back home in Murang’a on weekends.

On the day of his disappearance, Mr Njuguna had been overseeing work at construction sites in Dandora. Later that evening, he got a phone call, and informed his son that he was going to meet someone at Cinema Bus Stage in Dandora. He has never been seen since.

Reagan Nyambati, 11

The 11-year-old disappeared on June 21, 2014.

The Standard Six pupil at Riena Academy in Ruai, was last seen in his neighbourhood playing football with friends. His mother, Phyllis Kerubo, says he was wearing a yellow and blue t-shirt, grey trousers and sports shoes.

THE FRIENDS WHO CANNOT BE FOUND

On March 5, Wilson Gathiomi drove his vehicle to a car wash in Nairobi’s Doonholm Estate. While there, he received a phone call, which prompted him to leave in a hurry, saying that he would be back for his car, which was still being cleaned.

Three months later, Mr Gathiomi is yet to return and his family has not heard from him. His father, Peter Mbugua, said that he had talked to Gathiomi on the morning of the day he disappeared without trace. He had told his father that he would take his vehicle for a car wash after which he would head to town with his girlfriend.

Interestingly, two of Gathiomi’s close friends, Jeremiah Kibunjah and Alex Kihara, all of them car salesmen, also disappeared on the same day, and have also not been found.

Mr Kihara’s wife, Joy, said that he sent her a text message telling her that he had been arrested by police, but not specifying which police station he had been taken to. When she called him to get details, his phone had been switched off. That was the last time she heard from him.

As for Mr Kibunja, his wife, Edna Njeri, said he left their house in Buru Buru Estate the same day at around 1pm to meet a friend. She is still waiting for his return.