In the poignant poem “Grass Will Grow,” Kenyan poet Jonathan Kariara writes, “If you should take my child, Lord, give my hands strength to dig his grave. Cover him with earth. Lord, send a little rain. For grass will grow.”
The poet accepts death and pleads only for the strength to bury his child, suggesting that closure is possible.
What seems to terrify him more is madness—the mental torture that comes when death is uncertain or unresolved.
Two families in Nakuru are enduring this very anguish, devastated by the mysterious disappearance of their loved ones.
They say they are tormented not just by the absence but by the silence, as there are no bodies, no messages, and no closure—only an unrelenting mental torture that deepens with every unanswered question.
Missing since January 18, 2025, Odhiambo was reportedly arrested by Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) rangers for allegedly trespassing into the protected Lake Nakuru National Park.
According to his family, the officers traced him to his residence in Manyani Estate and took him into custody. That was the last time anyone saw or heard from him.
His disappearance sparked protests in Nakuru and set off a desperate search by his family, friends, and human rights groups.
They have checked mortuaries, hospitals, and the surrounding regions, but he has never been found.
“Every effort to trace him has failed. Each day, the hope of ever finding him fades. We have lost hope of ever finding him, having searched for him everywhere,” said Odhiambo’s wife, Alvy Okello.
Odhiambo’s mother, Elizabeth Auma, says the last three months have been a nightmare.
“I don't sleep. I just want my son—alive or dead. At least I can bury him and get closure,” she told Nation.Africa.
On March 19, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, while on a visit to Nakuru, promised that the government would help find Mr Odhiambo.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen (right) Ms Elizabeth Auma, mother of missing Nakuru fisherman Brian Odhiambo.
Photo credit: Eric Matara | Nation Media Group
“As a government, we will not allow a situation where a Kenyan goes missing without being accounted for. We are here to ensure lives are protected,” said Mr Murkomen.
But nearly a month later, there has been no word from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) or the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
CS Murkomen had been forced to speak on the matter after Odhiambo’s mother interrupted his speech in Nakuru.
On March 17, the family, detectives from the DCI, and human rights activists were granted access to Lake Nakuru National Park to search for Odhiambo.
This followed a tip from a whistleblower who claimed that a KWS ranger had shown him Odhiambo’s body buried in a shallow grave inside the park.
Despite an extensive search, they did not find the body.
On March 13, Nakuru Principal Magistrate Vincent Adet ordered the DCI and KWS to expand their investigations and forward the file to the DPP within 30 days—a deadline that lapses next week on April 13.
Two months ago, Ms Auma fainted at the Nakuru Law Courts after a judge dismissed a petition filed by the Independent Medico Legal Unit (IMLU) over her son’s disappearance.
A family member told the Nation that the family has exhausted all avenues and is now contemplating a symbolic burial using a banana shoot, in line with Luo traditions.
“We have searched everywhere and exhausted all avenues. If we never find him, we shall be forced to bury a banana shoot,” said the family member.
Nakuru City-based butcher Brian Stingo, who has been missing since July 24, 2022 (left), and fisherman Brian Odhiambo.
“We have been going through agony, and the police have not helped much. They have been behaving like their hands are tied. All we want is my son—alive or dead,” added Ms Auma.
The other family facing a similar nightmare is that of Brian Stingo, a 21-year-old fisherman who went missing on July 24, 2022.
Stingo, who also worked as a butcher at Bethlehem Butchery in Nakuru City, left for a fishing expedition with three friends but never returned home.
His mother, Mary Asami Leah, a single mother of seven, says her second-last-born son was full of life and hopeful. On the day he disappeared, he left behind his mother and sister, Susan Kavaya, at home in Manyani Makuti Estate.
Illegal fishing expedition
He is believed to have drowned in Lake Nakuru during an illegal fishing expedition, but his body has never been recovered.
“We request President William Ruto to help us find my son. If I get his body to bury him, I will be happy and get closure. I have been living in agony,” Ms Asami said.
Ms Elizabeth Auma (centre), mother of missing Nakuru fisherman Brian Odhiambo, and his Wife Alvy Okello (left), addressing the press outside Parliament Buildings, Nairobi on March 11, 2025.
Photo credit: Dennis Onsongo | Nation Media Group
These two disappearances have sparked outrage far beyond Nakuru. In Nairobi, the public outcry has landed at the Senate.
Human rights group Vocal Africa, led by Executive Director Hussein Khalid, has petitioned the Senate to form a special committee to investigate the disappearances of Odhiambo and Stingo and to probe alleged atrocities committed by KWS officers in Lake Nakuru National Park.
Khalid, who was accompanied by the victims’ families, presented the petition to Senators Okiya Omtatah (Busia), Dan Maanzo (Makueni), and Faki Mohamed (Mombasa), who received it.
“On behalf of families whose loved ones have been killed, injured, or disappeared under circumstances tied to KWS rangers at Lake Nakuru National Park, we want the Senate to act swiftly and probe the atrocities,” states part of the petition.
Vocal Africa claims that despite persistent outcry over human rights violations—including unlawful killings, enforced disappearances, and systematic torture—no credible investigations have been conducted.
“State authorities have turned a blind eye, and those responsible have continued to operate without consequences, shielded by the very institutions meant to protect life and dignity,” reads the petition.
The group says affected families have endured years of agony, forced to relentlessly search for loved ones, bury bodies marked with signs of violence, and mourn without answers.
Despite repeated pleas from the families and the community, the authorities have failed to take responsibility or offer meaningful explanations.
Dozens of youth have reportedly been injured in confrontations with KWS rangers during illegal fishing expeditions. Others have died, sometimes mauled by wild animals while trying to escape.
