A portrait of Nakuru fisherman Brian Odhiambo who disappeared on January 18, 2025 after being arrested by KWS officers at Lake Nakuru National Park.
Every ring of Elizabeth Auma’s phone triggers a mix of hope and dread.
She longs for a call bearing news of her son Brian Odhiambo, whom she has not heard from for the last one year.
For 365 days, Ms Auma has carried a mother’s unbearable burden following the disappearance of her 33-year-old son. Each day has been marked by anguish, unanswered questions and relentless searches through government offices, police stations and mortuaries across the country, efforts that have yielded nothing.
Elizabeth Auma, mother to Brian Odhiambo a local fisherman who has een missing for a year.
Odhiambo, a fisherman, vanished without a trace exactly one year ago. He allegedly disappeared while in the custody of Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) officers at the world-renowned Lake Nakuru National Park.
Since then, he has never communicated with his family or friends.
According to court records, Odhiambo was allegedly arrested by KWS officers for trespassing into the protected Lake Nakuru National Park during a fishing expedition. Investigations by detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) have revealed that Brian was last seen being dragged away by KWS officers on January 18, 2025.
Since then, the family has staged protests and made desperate pleas to KWS and the government to help trace his whereabouts, but with no success.
January 18, 2026 marked exactly one year since Brian went missing and his family said their hope of ever finding him is fading with each passing day.
In an exclusive interview with the Nation at her home in Manyani Estate, Nakuru City, Ms Auma described the past year as devastating.
“Every time I hear a vehicle outside my gate, I think they have brought Brian home. I don’t sleep. His disappearance has been a nightmare. I just want my son—alive or dead so that at least I can bury him and get closure.If they give me my son’s body, I will bury him and know he died,” she said in the interview.
For Odhiamo’s wife, Alvy, the past year has been filled with suspense and agony.
“Every effort to trace him has failed. We have searched everywhere, including mortuaries, but found nothing. We have lost hope of ever finding him alive. All I need now is my husband’s body so I can lay him to rest. My children keep asking where their father is. I tell them he travelled and will come back,” she said.
Another family member said that if Odhiambo is never found, they may be forced to perform a symbolic burial using a banana shoot, in line with Luo traditions.
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Beyond emotional trauma, the family has also suffered financial hardship.
“Since he disappeared, we have survived on help from well-wishers. He was the breadwinner. Taking care of the children alone has been very difficult,” said his widow.
She appealed directly to President William Ruto.
“My only hope now is the President. I am a crying widow, tormented by my husband’s disappearance. Please help me find him—alive or dead.”
Court battles, protests and prayer vigils have marked the past year but justice remains elusive for the family. At the Nakuru Law Courts, the family says the slow-moving legal process is now their only hope.
On Monday, relatives held a prayer service at the scene where Odhiambo was abducted and lit candles in his memory.
Six suspects—Francis Wachira, Alexander Lorogoi, Isaac Ochieng, Michael Wabukala, Evans Kimaiyo, and Abdurahman Ali—were charged in May 2025 with Odhiambo’s abduction and disappearance.
They were released on a bond of Sh300,000 each, or an alternative cash bail of Sh100,000.
In September 2025, witnesses testified that Odhiambo was last seen unconscious after allegedly being beaten by KWS rangers. Testimony placed the officers at the centre of the crime scene and revealed that Odhiambo disappeared while in their custody.
Prosecution witnesses said four KWS rangers arrested Odhiambo, bundled him into a Land Cruiser at Nakuru’s Sewage area, and later transferred him to another vehicle driven by one ranger.
He was never booked at any police station, unlike other suspects arrested that day.
A portrait of Nakuru fisherman Brian Odhiambo who disappeared on January 18, 2025 after being arrested by KWS officers at Lake Nakuru National Park.
KWS driver Gedion Chemirmir testified that he was ferrying officers to crack down on illegal fishing at Lake Nakuru when they encountered rangers chasing a suspect—later identified as Odhiambo.
“They arrested him and brought him into the Land Cruiser. He did not appear injured,” Chemirmir said.
He told the court that Odhiambo was later tied with a rope and handed over to another ranger, Abdurahman Suli, who drove off alone with him.
Chief Inspector Musee Mwangangi, the OCS at Bondeni Police Station, testified that nine suspects were booked that day—but Odhiambo was not among them.
Top DCI detective Julius Muhui later told the court that Odhiambo was brutalised by KWS officers and forcibly dragged back into the park before his disappearance was planned and executed.
However, the accused rangers have maintained that Odhiambo escaped from their custody.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, during a visit to Nakuru in March 2025, promised government intervention after Ms Auma disrupted his speech.
“We will not allow a situation where a Kenyan goes missing without being accounted for,” Mr Murkomen said.
Detectives have since been granted court orders twice to search Lake Nakuru National Park following whistle-blower claims of shallow and mass graves. No body has been found.
Meanwhile, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) has written to the Attorney General seeking action against the officers.
Earlier, the High Court dismissed a habeas corpus petition seeking to compel authorities to produce Odhiambo, citing insufficient proof he was in custody at the time of disappearance.
Nakuru Human Rights Network Director David Kuria called for the case to be fast-tracked.
“One year since his abduction, the family still does not know whether he is dead or alive. The psychological torture and trauma they have endured are incalculable,” he said.
