A Nairobi family is in distress over the whereabouts of their son, a student at St Joseph’s Boys National School, Kitale, who has been missing for more than a month now.
Reuben Mbatha, a 17-year-old Form Four student at the school in Trans Nzoia County, reportedly went missing from their Nairobi home on January 6— just as schools were opening for the first term after the long December holiday break.
His father George Nzivo last week embarked on a mission to search for his son in Kitale town where he schooled, hoping to find some helpful leads on the minor’s whereabouts.
Reuben’s family, which resides in Dandora Phase V, Nairobi, was preparing to send him back to school at the onset of the reopening week.
His mother Elizabeth Ndinda recalls sending him to deposit Sh17,000 at an M-Pesa shop, but it would be the last day he would be seen at home.
His disappearance has left his family in a traumatising search of their firstborn son who was in high spirits before he left home that fateful day.
The missing son has a twin sister, also a Form Four student at the neighboring St Joseph's Girls High School, Kitale. His disappearance has left her emotionally disturbed.
His parents describe him as a disciplined and humble son who never showed signs of stress or depression during the long holiday.
Following an unfruitful search in Nairobi, his father last week camped in Kitale hoping to get some leads.
Mr Nzivo, 45, told Nation.Africa that he has been to hospitals, police stations, and mortuaries in Nairobi looking for Reuben.
“Since my son got lost, I have gone to all police stations in Nairobi, Kenyatta Hospital, Mbagathi, and Mama Lucy, including morgues, but I did not find my son. The struggle to find my son has been painful and devastating,” he said.
George Nzivo 45, father of the missing form four student during an interview with Nation.Africa in Kitale on February 12.
Photo credit: Evans Jaola| Nation Media Group
“We don't know what happened to him because we have never heard from him since he disappeared. Maybe he was knocked down by a vehicle or attacked, but we searched in Nairobi hospitals and police stations without success."
Nation. Africa caught up with Mr Nzivo as he pinned Reuben's posters in Kitale town near the Kitale Law Courts buildings on Odinga Street.
He caught the attention of passersby in the town as he struggled to pin the posters hoping they would help him find his missing child.
“I came to Kitale to visit his school and ask his friends if they know anything about him, but they have told me they don't know. I thought I would get a lead to get my son but I am still stuck,” said the distressed father, fighting tears.
“My son has been very cool at home and when he left to go to the M-Pesa shop, we didn't know it would be our last day to see him. Unfortunately, we can't tell what happened to him."
The family is now calling on authorities and Kenyans to help them find their kin who is supposed to be in school preparing for the Kenya Certificate of Secondary School (KCSE) national examination.
“Our life has been stuck since our son went missing. We are telling our son to return home and go to school,” the emotional father pleaded.
The father said he is weak and unable to work, calling on anyone who has seen his son to help him get his son.
Nation.Africa has a copy of the OB/40/09/01/025 missing child report that his father made at Dandora Police station.
