Anxiety has gripped two families in Bomet County following the mysterious disappearance of two young men and their female companion. They were last seen travelling home from Nairobi last Friday.
Elvis Kevin Langat and Dominic Kipngeno Langat, also known as Muge, residents of Chepkosa and Yoiywana villages in Chepalungu Constituency, were reportedly travelling from Nairobi to their rural home when the incident occurred.
The trio’s journey took a turn in Lari, Kiambu County, where their vehicle was reportedly ambushed and hijacked.
A police report seen by Nation.Africa indicates the attackers shot and deflated three tyres of the vehicle forcing it into a ditch before whisking the occupants away to an unknown destination.
According to relatives who spoke to Nation. Africa on Monday, Elvis had sought medical treatment earlier that day at The Nairobi West Hospital and was being driven by Dominic when the ambush happened.
It was on their way back to Bomet that their vehicle was allegedly sprayed with bullets near Lari. Armed assailants in two vehicles then emerged and forcibly took the three individuals into their cars before speeding off.
The matter was reported to Olbutyo Police Station under OB number 4/7/12/2024 by their families, and an inquiry file was opened, which was later escalated to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
The police report shows a missing-persons report was separately filed by a relative Julius Mutai from Chepkinoiyo village in Siongiroi Ward on December 7, 2024.
The police report confirmed that the two young men left Nairobi on December 6, 2024, after seeking medical treatment and were en route to their rural home when the incident occurred.
The police investigation revealed that the family received a concerning phone call from Davina Bosibori, the owner of a Toyota Prado (registration KDC 299C, black), which the youths had hired from Litein in Kericho County.
Ms Bosibori, according to the report, informed Mr Mutai that her vehicle’s tracker showed that it had been stationary since December 5, 2024, and that she could no longer reach the youth by phone.
She also travelled to the vehicle's location near the Mai Mahiu escarpment along the Mutarakwa-Mai Mahiu Road, on December 6.
There, she found that the vehicle’s tyres had been shot at and the back windscreen shattered.
She was told that the vehicle’s occupants, two men and a woman, had been abducted by masked men who were chasing them in unmarked Subaru vehicles.
The vehicle was later towed to Lari Police Station in Kiambu County where it was recorded as evidence in the case. A senior police officer from Lari Police Station confirmed on Monday that the investigation was ongoing.
Mr Pius Koech, a relative of the missing youth, called on the police to clarify whether the victims were in their custody, dead or alive.
"We are asking the police to set the record straight and put the matter to rest whether Dominic, Elvis, and the unnamed lady are in their custody or whether they have been killed," said Mr Koech in an interview on Sunday.
“It is very unsettling for the affected families to wake up in the morning and go to bed at night not knowing whether their loved ones are being held by the police, criminal gangs or have been killed.”
He revealed that the family members had recorded statements with the police and had been invited by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in Lari to travel to the station on Monday to record a statement.
The family revealed that they had visited multiple morgues across Nairobi, Kiambu, Nakuru and Naivasha but no bodies matching the description of the missing individuals had been identified.
"Our relatives and friends have visited many funeral homes, but there has been no positive identification. We reached out to those claiming the victims are safe asking them to show us where they are and to those saying they have been killed, to show us the bodies,” Mr Koech said.
According to Mr Koech, the two youths had been in contact with their family until 5.04 pm on December 6, 2024, after which their phones went silent, presumably when they were abducted.
The family has been left grappling with anxiety, while social media has been awash with conflicting claims about the fate of the victims, fuelling further uncertainty.
He said the government should clear the air on the matter and settle the anxiety that the incident has caused the families affected and the fact that there was an unknown third person who was forcibly taken with the two young men.
“If there are criminal incidents the youth have been involved in and are being sought, kindly bring it to the attention of the family members to settle them. If they are being held, it would be important to release a statement on the same or pass the information to the family officially,” Mr Koech said.
