Anxiety has gripped the Itunduimuni region in Machakos County after a local truck driver was reportedly caught up in military conflicts in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Florence Wanza Munyao was reported missing a week ago. Talk that she was kidnapped by a Congolese militia has sent relatives, colleagues, and neighbors panicking.
"Tell us if you are a government agent bearing some news about our daughter. Please tell us what you know," a woman, who was part of a small crowd chatting in hushed tones at Itunduimuni Township, pleaded when a Nation team asked for directions to Ms Wanza's home on Monday.
Although she has been in the trucking business for close to 20 years, Ms Wanza, who is popularly known by the nickname ''Queen'', has remained a sensation in Itunduimuni and the larger Masinga region, where she is revered as the only woman long-distance truck driver in the region.
At some point, she joined DHL, a global logistics company, before landing a fuel tanker job. She has been transporting fuel across regional borders for more than a decade, a testament to her truck-driving acumen.
A three-bedroom bedroom bungalow in a gated compound around two kilometers from Itunduimuni Township is a clear testament to the fortune the mother of two has made in truck driving.
"My sister is my father and mother. She is the sole breadwinner. She educated me and picked my children as well to educate. The last 10 days have been the toughest for me. I cannot afford to sleep. We are devastated. The children have nothing to eat because we have run out of supplies," Ms Wanza's brother, Joseph Ngei, told the Nation.
"This truck is the one which has set up this homestead as well as our grandmother's homestead," he added, showing a 2014 photograph of Florence standing next to a fuel tanker.
According to Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC), a Congolese opposition group, Ms Wanza was kidnapped on August 27, while in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In a statement seen by Nation, the group blames FDLR, one of the militias in the Democratic Republic of Congo for Ms Wanza's kidnapping.
"Members of one of the most active components of the Kinshasa regime's coalition forces, namely the FDLR, kidnapped a Kenyan woman truck driver, Florence Wanza Munyao, born on March 29, 1979 in Machakos District, Kenya, on Tuesday, August 27, 2024, at noon, in Kiseguro within the Binza grouping," reads a part of the statement signed by Lawrence Kanyuka, the head of communication at AFC.
Members of the Kenyan transit trucking community broke the news almost immediately after the AFC statement made rounds online.
In turn, Mr Muthama has reached out to Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi.
"I am asking Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, who also serves as the Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs, to urgently secure the release of Florence Wanza Munyao, a Kenyan citizen and truck driver, who was kidnapped by the FDLR, one of Kinshasa's coalition forces, on August 27, 2024," he said in a statement published on social media a week ago.
Ms Wanza's family is yet to hear from the government. Members of the family have clung to hope as they relieved their shared memories.
"Florence threw us a big bash when we met last December. She slaughtered a goat and made chapati. We dispersed around 10pm after a day of merrymaking. She is fond of throwing such parties whenever she gets an opportunity," said Domitila Nduku, a neighbor to Ms Wanza.
"Whenever Florence throws parties, she fondly talks about the dangers lurking on the road and how she navigates them. She says she senses danger ahead and acts accordingly in advance. Whenever she senses danger, she said during the latest party, recalling a recent road accident near Mtito Andei Township, she stops and parks along the road for some time. This is how she avoids running into trouble on the road," said Margaret Kamwethya, who identifies as Ms Wanza's foster mother.
"We appeal to the government to move with speed to rescue our daughter from the kidnappers. She is our only source of hope. She is a big inspiration to girls in this region," Ms Kamwethya added.
