This archive report was first published on 26 September 2021.
Francis Oyaro, a 45-year-old KWS warden, has been missing since August 28, 2021, when he went to Marsabit National Park. His wife, Veronica Osore, said the last time she spoke to Oyaro was on August 28 as he was heading home from his work station.
Osore said efforts to trace her husband through his colleagues and the police have hit a dead end. The family now fears that something bad may have happened to him.
According to Osore, Oyaro left home in the morning and called her at around 1pm to inform her he was approaching Nanyuki. However, he did not show up, and by 8pm, his phone was still off.
Osore said she called her husband's workstation, and his immediate boss, Mr. Kitavi Kaloki, was surprised. Kaloki said Oyaro had asked to be away for a few days, a request he had been granted. However, Oyaro was expected to return to work on September 6.
Osore said Kaloki informed her that Oyaro had hiked a lift on a KWS vehicle with two female colleagues. However, the other occupants of the vehicle claim Oyaro alighted from the vehicle in Nanyuki, but the family is not sure about that.
The family has been to Marsabit and Nairobi in search of Oyaro without success. Earlier this week, they printed and circulated posters bearing Oyaro's picture.
Nakuru East Sub-county police commander Elena Kabukuru said the matter is under investigation, and they would update the family on the progress.
On September 23, 2021, a person who claimed to know Oyaro at a personal level but sought to conceal his identity called Oyaro's elder sister, Winnie Oyaro, claiming he had seen him in Nanyuki on the day he went missing.
The caller said Oyaro was flagged down by two people in civilian clothes who identified themselves as security officers. They ordered Oyaro to alight and took his bag and phone. Oyaro seemed to know the two well, leaving the family in fear that his suspected abductors may have harmed him.
Marsabit National Park senior warden John Wambua said they have reported the matter to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI). The matter is being investigated by DCI in Marsabit, but no progress has been made.
