On April 24, Administration Police officer Hosea Kemei Kipketer returned to work in Naivasha after spending about two weeks at home on sick leave at his Trans Nzoia home.
At about 10pm, upon arrival, he called his father to say he had travelled safely and asked how the family was doing. It was the last time his father heard his son's voice.
Five days later, the family learnt that the 37-year-old AP officer had disappeared from his quarters.
More than four months later, Mr Kemei’s whereabouts remain unknown, leaving his wife, three children and parents desperate for answers about what happened to him.
Mr Kemei was attached to the Naivasha Deputy County Commissioner’s office in Nakuru County and lived at the Administration Police staff quarters when he disappeared on the night of April 29.
Information from colleagues privy to the matter indicates that Kemei might have been facing personal challenges before he went missing.
But for his family, the scanty details surrounding his disappearance have only raised more questions.
His father, Mr Andrew Nabukwesa, says he first learnt that his son was missing after trying to reach him by phone on April 30, 2026.
“It is sad how my son went missing. I called him on April 30 just to check on him, but I could not find him on his phone. When I called his friend, who is a colleague, he was the one who broke the sad news to me that he had gone missing since the previous night,” he said.
Undated photos of Administration Police officer Hosea Kemei Kipketer, who went missing in April 2026 while at work at the Naivasha Deputy County Commissioner's office.
Photo credit: Pool
Since then, Mr Nabukwesa has made more than nine trips to Naivasha in search of his son.
At their home in Chepkoiyo, Cherangany Constituency, Trans Nzoia County, Daily Nation found him looking through photographs of his missing son. He had just spoken to one of his son’s colleagues in Naivasha, hoping the call might provide fresh information. It did not.
“We are very devastated. We are living every day with hope of seeing him alive. We have struggled for over four months looking for him but in vain,” he said.
He revealed that he has searched hospitals and mortuaries around Naivasha, where his son worked, and later extended the search to Nairobi. At one point, he stayed in Naivasha for a week, up to May 6, trying to trace him.
“I even went to Nairobi City Mortuary and hospitals in Nairobi, but we could not find him. Up to now, we have not received any information from his employer or report on investigations,” he said.
For the distressed father, the fact that his son disappeared from police quarters has made the ordeal even more difficult to understand.
He says the family has not been given a clear account of what happened in the hours leading up to Kemei’s disappearance or who last saw him.
“Why did he go missing at his place of work? I am told he was at his house before he went missing. Who was there and what did his colleagues see? I feel as a family we have been denied information,” he said.
The father also questioned why Mr Kemei’s bosses in Naivasha delayed giving him a formal report about his son’s disappearance.
“I was casually told that he had gone missing. Details of the disappearance were not well documented, and I kept wondering if it was a government firearm missing; they would have gone better in search for it. But because it is my son, they are giving me excuses and fake promises,” he said, tears rolling down his face.
Both Mr Nabukwesa and Mr Kemei’s wife, Ms Rael Kitiyo, recorded statements with detectives in Naivasha.
Andrew Nabukwesa, father of missing Administration Police officer Hosea Kemei Kipketer, who worked in Naivasha in Nakuru County.
Photo credit: Evans Jaola, Pool | Nation
Mr Stephen Nabukwesa, Mr Kemei’s brother, says the family has continued searching without a breakthrough.
“He lived in a secured place at police houses, but details of the missing have been so scanty and that is why we blame the government. We are just told he went missing at around 1 p.m. Why is the government not telling us the truth?” he asked.
The family says their missing kin has never contacted them since his disappearance and that his mobile phone has remained switched off.
“We just want my son back home, whether he is alive or dead. We are going through a lot of pain as a family,” said his father.
At Kemei’s home in Kolongei, Endebess, his wife and three children are also struggling to cope with his absence. Friends and neighbours say life has never been the same since he disappeared.
The officer was not only the family’s breadwinner but also a father who loved and cared for his children.
For his wife, one of the hardest parts of the ordeal has been trying to explain his disappearance to their children.
“We do not know what happened to my husband. It has been very hard for me to even tell the children what happened. My first-born son, who is in Form Three, has so many questions about the whereabouts of his father,” said Mr Kitiyo.
She said she and other relatives had travelled several times to Naivasha in search of Kemei and had also made efforts to trace him through relatives’ homes, but without success.
His disappearance has left an evident gap in the home. His wife has been left to care for their three children without knowing where their husband and father is or what happened to him.
Undated photos of Administration Police officer Hosea Kemei Kipketer, who went missing in April 2026 while at work at the Naivasha Deputy County Commissioner's office.
Photo credit: Pool
Family seeks government intervention
His family is appealing to the government to intensify efforts to establish his whereabouts and provide them with information on the progress of investigations.
They want Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja and Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen to intervene.
“We want the Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja and Cabinet Secretary for Interior Kipchumba Murkomen to help us find our son. It is painful that a police officer can just go missing like that. We feel the government has failed us,” his father appealed.
Daily Nation contacted Mr Kemei’s immediate boss, Naivasha Sub-County Administration Police Commander Ms Mary Mwangi, who l confirmed that she was aware of the disappearance.
She said the file had been referred to a higher office for investigations and that the Directorate of Criminal Investigations was also involved.
“Yes, I am aware of the matter and we referred the file to a higher office for investigations. I cannot give a comment on the extent of investigations right now, but I can assure you the matter is under active investigation,” she said.
She said events leading to Mr Kemei’s disappearance had been detailed and documented and were being worked on to ensure the family gets justice.
“We have been in touch with the father and he is aware of the investigation. I assured him that we will keep him updated on any developments,” she told Daily Nation on Tuesday.
For Mr Kemei’s family, however, the investigation has so far brought no answers. His father continues to make calls to Naivasha, hoping for news while his wife is left struggling to reassure their children who keep asking difficult questions about their missing father.
