Where is my son? A mother's cry for help
Rose Atieno third-born son Phelix Ochieng (Inset), 22, went missing in December last year.
What you need to know:
- Phelix Ochieng has been missing since December 2023 when he left his house for work.
- Rose Atieno says for several months her nights have been filled with horrible dreams.
Where is my child? This is a question Rose Atieno has asked herself repeatedly for the last four months without an answer.
Ms Atieno's third born son Phelix Ochieng, 22, went missing in December last year.
Ochieng is reported to have disappeared on December 23, 2023 after leaving his house in Bandani estate in Kisumu for work.
22-year-old Phelix Ochieng disappeared without a trace four months ago from his house in Kisumu’s Bandani estate.
Atieno says that Ochieng's neighbors told her that he left dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a black t-shirt but never returned in the evening.
“Days have turned into weeks and weeks into months yet my son’s whereabouts remains anonymous,” says Ms Atieno.
The family became suspicious that something was amiss after their numerous calls to Mr Ochieng's mobile phone failed to go through for a whole week.
Ms Atieno says that this prompted her to send her sister Alice Suleiman who lives in the same area to check if Ochieng had returned but she found his door locked from outside.
The disappearance would later be reported at the Kisumu Central Police Station by Mr Ochieng's younger brother Escol Obondo, OB number 25/1/2/24.
Ms Atieno disclosed that they have searched all the possible places for her son including mortuaries within Kisumu.
"We have checked both the morgues at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital and the Kisumu County Referral Hospital to check if he is among the unclaimed bodies but nothing," she explains
Ms Atieno says that since December her nights have been filled with horrible dreams.
A missing person report was filed at the Kisumu Central Police Station following the disappearance of 22-year-old Phelix Ochieng.
"Every day, I pray to God to protect my son wherever he may be," she says.
Described by his mother as an obedient and soft spoken son Mr Ochieng was known for his jovial nature and kind heart.
“Ochieng is a very disciplined child. At his age he could help me with house chores, do menial jobs and shop for the family," says Ms Atieno.
After completing his high school education in 2019 at Luora Mixed Secondary School in Rangwe Sub-county, Ochieng did unskilled jobs in the village before he decided to try his luck in the city.
A decision his mother did not oppose knowing that her first born son who lived in Kisumu would accommodate his little brother.
Mr Ochieng left their home in Kokoko village, Rangwe sub-county, in Homa Bay County in search of job opportunities in Kisumu City.
Ochieng would later stay with his brother Escol Obondo at Car Wash estate in Kisumu for several years before he moved out to start his own life.
He secured a catering job with his brother's help and relocated to his own house in Bandani Estate.
“Since he was a hard-working boy, I didn’t want him to be idle so I used my network to help him secure a job as a waiter. My aunt Alice Suleiman also happened to live in the estate where he rented a house. So he could pay her a visit sometimes after work,” says Mr Obondo.
Obondo says that not even his brother's best friend knows about his whereabouts.
"You see my brother is an introvert, he doesn't have a lot of friends, not even a girlfriend. So tracing such a person isn't easy at all. We just pray that one day he will return home safe," says Mr Obondo.
