George Okoth is refusing to imagine a life without his fifth-born daughter Susan Adhiambo returning home.
Susan, who is mildly epileptic, was age five when she went missing in January 2015. She went out to play with her friends in Kariobangi South, Nairobi, and never came back. It has been five years.
Is he living in denial or it is hope against hope? Okoth says it is a difficult prospect to face: a future without Susan.
The father of six lives in the Ngomongo area of Nairobi with his family.
When she went missing, Susan was exhibiting early signs of epilepsy. She would convulse, mostly in the mornings, when she was sick and suffering from a high fever.
“Susan going missing has really disrupted our progress as we are destabilised,” he said.
The pain is worse because his elder son, about age 15, suffered cerebral malaria that caused him to become mute.
The day of loss was January 6, 2015.
It was a Tuesday evening when Susan went out to play with her friends near St John’s Catholic Church at Korogocho, Nairobi. She always loved to play and went out at 5pm. Minutes turned into hours.
Where was Susan?
The family never slept that night. The search began and it has borne no fruit.
It has been seven years of anguish. “Dealing with twin tragedies – my missing daughter and (disabled) son – has been a living hell,” Okoth says.
The family has done the obvious in searching.
They have also visited a number of children’s homes in the city and reported to the Children’s Welfare Department.
Okoth tells himself his daughter was rescued by a stranger and taken to a children’s home and that someday – they don’t know when, of course – they will find her.
“We are clinging to hope our daughter is not held by a stranger but is at a children’s home and someday will come home,” he says.
“The first step was to report at Kariobangi police station. Over the years, we have visited the station to see if any progress has been made in the investigation or if a lost and found child has been reported there. Nothing,” Okoth said.
The missing person’s report was filed as OB48/12/1/2015.
They have visited the mortuaries, hospital wards and even have run a missing child notice on Citizen TV and other media platforms.
Nothing.
But, Susan’s father said, “We are hopeful.”
