This archive report was first published on 7 July 2021.
Two months have passed since Cecilia Wangari, a 15-year-old Form One student from Thika, Kiambu County, went missing. Her last known whereabouts were at her aunt's residential house in Kisii estate on May 1, 2021.
Wangari, a student at Dandora Secondary school in Nairobi, was reportedly wearing a grey striped skirt and a pink sweater with painted lines and an afro baby weave when she disappeared.
Her aunt, Elizabeth Waitherero, who was staying with her at the time, said that Wangari woke up late on the fateful day but prepared lunch for everyone and washed the house and utensils before requesting to go and study.
Waitherero described Wangari as seeming uneasy and disturbed after serving them food, but maintaining that she was okay.
"After serving me and my child, I asked her why she had not served her's but she insisted that she would eat later as she had woken up late. It only became clear to me that something was amiss when she restlessly went out and returned to the house on several occasions," Waitherero said.
After giving Wangari permission to go study on the rooftop, Waitherero said that was the last time she saw her, as she has never come back nor called to state her whereabouts.
Waitherero and Wangari's mother, Susan Wanjiru, have been searching for her everywhere, including calling every family member, but nothing has come forth since.
Efforts by police to trace her whereabouts have been unproductive, as her phone has been off since her disappearance.
Wanjiru described Wangari as a reserved and simple person who had never shown signs of misbehaving, and said that the family has been living a helpless and confused life since her disappearance.
"We have been living a disturbed and restless life. Since her disappearance, it has been hard to cope with life. Wangari, wherever you could be, please come home and worry not about anything that might have happened. We miss you so much," Wanjiru said.
