As the world celebrated World Children’s Day on Wednesday, November 20, two families in Nakuru County were in pain and despair.
Instead of honouring children's rights and advocate for their well-being like many other families across the world, the two families were engulfed in a nightmare of mystery surrounding the disappearances of their children.
The absence of clear answers from authorities only adds to the anguish of Maureen Gesare and Eunice Njeri’s families making them feel abandoned by a system they thought would protect them.
Ms Gesare's life took a tragic turn when her nine-month-old daughter Rehema Kerubo disappeared on October 29, 2024 without trace in the densely populated Kwa Rhonda estate.
According to Ms Gesare, her neighbors’ children had taken Rehema as they often did to a charity home where they received free food.
However, on their way back the children encountered a woman who claimed to be new in the area and asked for directions.
The stranger then lured the children with soda and chips distracting them long enough to take off with Rehema in an awaiting Probox car.
“The past month has been hard for me. I trusted the authorities to help bring my baby back but all I hear is that investigations are ‘ongoing.’ It feels like nobody really cares. I miss my daughter so much and I just plead with the woman to return my daughter,” Ms Gesare, who works as a casual labourer, said.
Rehema’s grandmother, Lilian Moraa, said the family has received strange calls from individuals claiming to have the girl
Despite providing the caller’s number to investigators at Kaptembwa police station the line soon went dead leaving the family in despair.
“I just pleaded with the woman to reach out to us. We are ready to pay the price as long as she will give us the baby. Our daughter is slowly sinking into depression. She barely sleeps at night and spends her days searching for her daughter,” Moraa says.
Vidic Ibrahim, 11, went missing on September 11, 2024 while playing with his friends at Lakeview estate in Nakuru County.
Photo credit: Courtesy
In another tragic case, 11-year-old Vidic Ibrahim vanished from Lakeview estate within Bondeni on September 11.
Vidic had been playing outside their house with his friends that Saturday. When Vidic didn’t return home, his mother Eunice Njeri, began to worry and after sending a friend to call him, she learned that they had decided to race home, yet Vidic never arrived.
“Those three months have been hectic for me. I did not know that would be the last time I would set my eyes on my son. I am just living with hope that detectives will solve the puzzle of my son's disappearance, and we will be reunited.”
Like Ms Gesare, Ms Njeri has taken it upon herself to distribute posters and post pleas on social media, praying that someone somewhere has seen her son.
They accuse the police of showing little urgency in their investigations, with responses often described as dismissive and riddled with delays.
The lack of progress has left them feeling powerless, abandoned by a system that should have been their greatest ally.
But their anguish is not isolated as these cases are just two of many in Kenya where missing children are often forgotten, their stories slipping into obscurity.
“They just told me to be patient and that they would find her. How can a mother be patient when her child is out there, alone, possibly in danger?” she asks.
During this year’s World Children’s Day celebration in Nakuru West Sub-County, Nakuru County’s Chief Officer for Gender, Social Services, and Inclusivity Gladys Kamuren acknowledged that child abduction cases are a growing concern, partly because Nakuru lies along a major transit highway.
“Children are easy targets since they are vulnerable. We are sounding a warning that Nakuru County will not allow such cases going forward,” she said.
Ms Kamuren added that the county has established shelters for minors who have survived defilement and are receiving legal support to ensure justice.
“As a government, we are scaling up child-inclusive social protection services, facilitating access to child-friendly justice, and enhancing mechanisms for online child protection,” he stated.
But for Ms Gesare and Ms Njeri, hope is the only thing that keeps them going.
Each knock on the door, each phone call, fills them with a mixture of hope and dread wondering if it’s news about their children.
