In Mzee Wa Nyama estate in Nakuru Town East, children playing outside their homes is nothing unusual. It is part of the rhythm of the neighbourhood until it wasn’t on June 11.
Four-year-old Mary Njeri Ng’ang’a was outside playing with other children near her family’s compound. At some point, she moved away from the group and when her family looked for her shortly after, she was gone.
Five days later, she has not been found.
Four-year-old Mary Njeri Ng’ang’a was outside playing with other children near her family’s compound when she went missing.
Photo credit: Pool
The disappearance has left the estate unsettled and the child’s family in deep distress, as detectives pursue a suspect believed to be linked to the case and a possible kidnapping attempt.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) says officers from the Anti-Human Trafficking and Child Protection Unit, working with the Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau and Mwariki police, are conducting a manhunt after the suspect fled during a raid in Ongata Rongai area.
Investigators had traced him to a rented room in the Quarry area but he escaped as officers closed in and has not been arrested.
Inside the room, detectives recovered a mobile phone, personal items and a mother-and-child clinic booklet belonging to another child from Nakuru County, , an item now being examined as part of the probe.
Police say they are also pursuing claims that the suspect attempted to demand ransom from the family as they searched for the missing child.
“Anyone with information that may assist in the arrest or whereabouts of the suspect should report to the nearest police station,” the DCI said.
In Mzee Wa Nyama estate, the search has been marked by growing anxiety and frustration.
On Tuesday, residents gathered at Mwariki Police Station seeking answers. They accused investigators of moving too slowly, saying the family has been left in uncertainty since the child disappeared.
For the family, the days have felt longer than they should.
The child’s grandmother Mary Njeri said she received a call from her daughter-in-law around 6pm on the day of the disappearance, informing her that the child could not be found after being allowed to play outside with friends.
She said what followed was a frantic search through the estate and surrounding areas, as neighbours and relatives moved from house to house calling out the child’s name.
The family later said the child may have been seen earlier in the company of a man and a woman who had been hired to work on a nearby farm. A boda boda rider later told them he had been asked to transport the pair and the child to another estate, but they did not agree on a fare and left.
“She is named after me. We have not slept since she went missing and we just want her back,” the grandmother said.
