This archive report was first published on 22 August 2020.
On August 22, 2020, a remarkable reunion took place in Nyamira, Kenya, as Ezekiel Ayieta, now 70, returned to his Nyangoge home after an astonishing 45-year absence.
Ayieta's youngest brother, Jackson Ouru, was just three years old when Ezekiel disappeared, and the family had long given up hope of ever seeing him again.
For 45 years, Ayieta lived in Central Kenya, never communicating with his family and earning the title of Omonyamwaka, a label for men who abandon their families and are not well known.
According to The Standard, Ayieta had embarked on a journey with five other young men to explore Mount Kenya forest for timber business, but things took a tragic turn, and the other four men lost their lives.
It was the COVID-19 pandemic that finally brought Ayieta back home, as he feared dying alone and hungry in a foreign place.
Upon his return, Ayieta was met with fear and confusion by his family members, who fled in terror, believing he was a ghost. However, his nephew, Bishop Changamu, was able to identify him, and Ayieta is now reunited with his native family.
