As he fumbled through some documents in his house, he was struggling to explain how his son, a university student at the time, went missing more than a decade ago under mysterious circumstances.
Luka Cheptarus from Talai village in Baringo Central said when his fourth-born son, Victor Kibarus, failed to make or answer his phone calls in the early months of 2013, as it was the norm, it did not occur to him that could start a genesis and years-long of searching for him without success.
In the dozens of documents he had, he only managed to retrieve two photographs his son took while in High School, two others while at the university, an admission letter into the Moi University and an OB number he obtained at Langas police station in Eldoret in 2016 while reporting his disappearance.
Leah Kaimugul and his husband Luka Cheptarus from Talai, Baringo Central on January 4, 2024, holding some photographs of their son, Victor Kibarus who went missing while studyng at Moi University.
Photo credit: Florah Koech
When the Nation toured his Kaprogonya home, on the outskirts of Kabarnet town in Baringo Central on Thursday, Cheptarus with his wife Leah Kaimugul went through the photos, as they sadly tried to recollect how they had searched for him to no avail.
“This is the only reminder I have of our missing son, whenever I see these photos, a lot of questions go through my mind if he is still alive, then where did he go to, to the extent he did not want to come home or tell us his whereabouts,” said Mr Cheptarus as he went through the photos countless times.
11 years of agony: Family of varsity boy missing since 2013 seek answers
According to the distraught father, Victor, 26, at the time of his disappearance was at home for the better part of 2012, during the electioneering period for his long holiday.
To make himself busy, he started a movie shop in Kabarnet town and also purchased a motorcycle.
“Victor was very entrepreneurial and he could do any business during holidays to get money. You could not find him idling, not even once. Even at Eldoret town where he was studying, he was operating an MPESA shop at a premise adjacent to the institution,” he explained.
Apart from being sociable, he said, his missing son was also very bright, right from primary to secondary school.
“He sat his KCPE examination at Visa Oshwal Primary School in Kabarnet in 2005 and managed to get admission at the prestigious Kabarak High School where he scored a mean grade of B. He joined Moi University in 2009 to study for a Bachelor's Degree in business management. I must admit that he was the brightest among my children…. I cannot even get the best words to describe him……he was simply the best,” he explained.
However, he said in early 2013, when he went back to school, that was the last he was seen.
He also realized that his son had changed and he did not call him or his mother as it was the norm, and could not answer calls as well.
“I started to get worried because that was unusual of him. He used to call us almost three times a week asking about our wellbeing and updating us on his progress in school. This time, he was neither answering our calls nor calling us anymore. He was in the third year of his university education,” the distraught father told the Nation .
Months later, he said, he resorted to going to Moi University to inquire what was happening with his son and if he was still in school.
“In December 2013, I went to see his best friend and he told me Victor was within the institution and once he got him, he would get back to me, claiming that it was not easy singling him out among thousands of students. His mobile phone number was not going through. I came back home with some little hopes that at least he was within the institution,” said Mr Cheptarus.
Undated photographs of Victor Kibarus from Talai, Baringo Central, then student at Moi University. He went missing in 2013.
Photo credit: Florah Koech
Several other months passed by and he did not get feedback from the friend. His missing son’s number was not going through anymore.
“I embarked on another journey in 2014 and Victor was nowhere to be seen. The friend, whom I had consulted earlier also claimed that he had not seen him at the institution for some time. I got more worried that something could have happened to him. That was very unusual for him to go silent for days, let alone months,” noted the father.
Two years later, after he came to the realization that his son might be missing, he reported his disappearance at the Langas police station, with the OB number 22/3/2016 which was also seen by the Nation.
The police, he said, searched for him but he was not traced.
“I went to the police station several times but they told me that my missing son had not been traced. One of his friends told me that he once saw him outside a Naivas Supermarket in Eldoret in 2014. They even had a small chat and asked him to go take a cup of tea at a hotel but he declined. That is the last he was seen,” said the father while struggling to explain.
“I am still perturbed because he was a very social person with no criminal record. His disappearance has shocked me and my family to the core because no one can trace him, not even his friends. We are just clinging to the hope that he is alive and he is somewhere. I just appeal to anyone who may have any information about his whereabouts to inform me or the police,” said Mr Cheptarus.
Ms Kaimugul also corroborated Victor’s good character saying among his six siblings he was the brightest in school.
“I have had sleepless nights since my son went missing under mysterious circumstances in 2013. The last I saw him was in January of the same year when he reported back to school. When I see his photos, it gives me nightmares, wondering what could have happened to him. We appeal to the state to assist us in searching for him because I believe that he is still alive,” said Ms Kaimugul while fighting back tears.
In a letter dated December 22, 2016, written by the Moi University, Office of the Dean of Students Dr John Ayieko addressing the secretary Higher Education Loans Board and seen by the Nation, the missing student was last seen at the institution in January 2013.
“Mr Victor was a student in this University up to January 2013 when he disappeared from the campus never to be seen again. Up to date, he cannot be accounted for because his whereabouts are unknown. The matter is with the CID,” read the letter in part.
“The parents have approached this office and informed us that Victor was also a beneficiary of the Higher Education Loan and this office deems it imperative to inform you accordingly,” it added.
