A family in South Imenti, Laikipia county, is living in agony following the mysterious disappearance of their family member. Daniel Mwaniki Kariuki went missing a day after celebrating Christmas with his family in December 2023. He went missing on the same day he received a call from a presumed friend with a humble request. The caller asked for a meetup at Kiawara Town and Kariuki obliged as he left home, never to return. Daniel Mwaniki Kariuki’s brother speaks “My son told me my husband was called twice or thrice before he picked up. According to the way my husband was speaking with the caller it was as though they knew each other. The caller was not a stranger,” Tabitha Gathigia, Mwaniki’s wife said.
Mwaniki’s brother was breathing fire as he confronted the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) concerning the 46-year-old’s disappearance. Samuel Ndung’u expressed his distress and disappointment in the DCI for allegedly not using their resources to arrest the caller. “You have the resources to trace and track the person who called Kariuki on December 26, 2023, between 12 noon and 3pm,” Ndung’u painfully said. Where was Daniel Mwaniki Kariuki working? Over a year later, the whereabouts of the former security manager at Ol Pejeta Conservancy remain unknown. Ndung’u added that he was given assurance of his brother’s safety and that he is not dead. “You told me there was a Safaricom debt that has not been settled and that’s why the name of the caller who called Mwaniki cannot be released. We have been waiting but until when?” he asked. The family is struggling to comprehend how their missing kin’s phone number has already been issued to another mobile subscriber. Mwaniki’s number issued to Mombasa subscriber
“I found a new subscriber called Katana from Mombasa county. I visited Safaricom and asked if they were aware the issued number had a pending,” Ndung’u highlighted. Three months before his disappearance, Mwaniki, a father of four had resigned from his position at Ol Pejeta Conservancy. According to his worried relatives, Mwaniki had quit his job where he had worked for over two decades citing frustrations by his seniors. His wife prayed for his safety as she pressed the DCI to speed up the investigations and find her husband.
by John Green
