Help me find my son: Woman’s 50-day horror of missing autistic child
Monicah Wanjiku, mother of three holds her phone with a picture of her son Dennis Kiburi, 11, who went missing on December 14, 2024.
What you need to know:
- Her son, who is autistic, does not speak.
- The thought of him alone, unable to express himself, keeps her awake at night.
Monicah Wanjiku sits together with her parents Joseph and Anne Mungai, reminiscing about her son’s laughter, looking at his photo.
The once lively home now feels empty, filled only with echoes of memories.
It has been an agonising 50 days since her autistic son, 11-year-old Denis Kiburi, disappeared, and every passing moment deepens the wound in her heart.
Emotional Monicah Wanjiku mother of three narrates ordeals after her son Dennis Kiburi, 11, got lost on December 14, 2024.
It was supposed to be a regular Sunday, a time of worship and community.
On that fateful evening on December 14, 2024, around 6 am, Monicah and her children attended church as they always did.
After the service and meetings, she allowed her son to step outside, believing he was playing with other children.
But within 20 minutes, her world shattered—her son was gone.
“I ran outside the gate after I couldn’t find him, looking for him. A woman outside had seen him board a Matatu. One thing is my son loved cars, I rushed to the stage, but no one had seen him. I went back to the church, panic rising in my chest,” Monicah tells Nation.Africa in an interview at her parent’s home in Banana, Kiambu County.
At this point, she says, the pastor took her to Uthiru, to the fleet managers of the Latema Travellers matatus, following the church woman’s claim that she had seen him board one of them.
“We explained everything, gave them my son’s photo, and left our numbers. They promised to call if they saw him. But no call ever came,” Monicah says.
By 8 pm, desperation had set in.
Emotional Monicah Wanjiku mother of three narrates ordeals after her son Dennis Kiburi, 11, got lost on December 14, 2024.
She reported the disappearance at Kinoo Police Station OB NO28 Date 14/12/2024.
Desperate searches
The next day, with her two brothers, she began an exhausting, heartbreaking cycle—checking police stations, one after another.
She would go to Central Police Station, Kikuyu, Kabete, and Kangemi police stations and everywhere she went, she was met with the same devastating answer: her son was not there.
“I repeated the cycle the next day, expanding the search to Kamukunji, Parklands, Westlands, Kinoo, and Kikuyu again. I reported him everywhere. But nothing. No one had seen him, “Monicah says, the pain in her voice impossible to miss.
Her search also took her to children's homes in Uthiru, Kabete, and Karen.
Still, there was no trace of her boy.
Hospitals became her next destination, and she visited Kenyatta National Hospital, Mbagathi Hospital, and Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital.
Each of these visits ended in heartbreak.
“We have tried everything. Police stations, children’s homes, hospitals. I have posted his photos everywhere, but nothing,” she says, tears streaming down her face. “I am pleading with anyone who has seen him,” Monicah says.
Unbearable pain
Her son, who is autistic, does not speak.
The thought of him alone, unable to express himself, keeps her awake at night.
The weight of his absence has crushed her daily life. Every day, she wakes up with renewed hope and goes out to search.
Monicah Wanjiku, mother of three holds her phone with a picture of her son Dennis Kiburi, 11, who went missing on December 14, 2024.
She has scoured the streets, looking among street children, praying to find a familiar face.
Her son had been going to school, but now, all she has left are memories of him—his laughter, his warmth, his presence.
“I have two other children, but I cannot even go to work. We cannot concentrate. Life has become unbearable. Every day I wake up I have to go look for him, I cannot sleep, I don’t have peace, where is my baby, I don’t even know if he is safe, if he has eaten, he used to wear diapers, how is he,” she said.
“I just want my son back, he just vanished If anyone has seen him, please help me bring him home,” she pleaded.
Her family, too, is broken by the ordeal.
Praying for a miracle
Her parents and siblings have all joined the search, moving from one place to another, hoping for a miracle.
Joseph Mungai, Denis’ grandfather, sits on the veranda of his home, his eyes fixed on the horizon. The old man, who once took pride in looking at his grandson enjoying music on TV, now battles a sorrow too deep for words.
“He loved music, and cars. Now, I wonder where he is, if he is safe, if he is warm. Every morning when we wake up we hope to get a call that they have found him, I tried going back there to the women around the church for them to remember but now they are afraid to talk to me, I don’t know what to do, I was close to him,” Joseph says of his grandson.
Anne Kanyi Mungai, Denis’ grandmother, sits by the window, staring blankly at the road outside, hoping to see her grandson walk through the gate.
Her once lively spirit has been replaced by an unshakable grief that lingers in her tired eyes.
“I wake up every morning thinking maybe today will be the day we find him. I keep thinking—what if he’s cold? What if he’s hungry? Does he even understand that we are looking for him? Anyone who has seen him we are pleading with you to please help bring him home,” Mrs Mungai says.