This archive report was first published on 16 November 2019.
On October 30, 2019, Peter Thanare, a 34-year-old taxi operator from Ruiru, left his home to meet a client in Kitengela. The client wanted to hire Thanare's vehicle to transport goats from Kajiado to Ruiru, with a planned stop in Isinya.
At around 12pm, Thanare's sister called his cellphone, but the call was received by a man claiming Thanare had gone to buy petrol for the taxi. The family tried to reach Thanare, but his phone was switched off, and they have not heard from him since.
The family reported Thanare missing at the Kitengela Police Station, and the DCI Serious Crime Unit took over the case. In their search for Thanare, the family visited police stations, hospitals, and mortuaries, including a mortuary in Machakos County where they were told a body had been retrieved from a river.
However, after visiting the mortuary, they realized the body was not Thanare's. The police investigation has been hindered by the fact that the client's cellphone had no call log history, as it was a new purchase.
The DCI investigators have also visited an M-pesa shop in Makutano, Machakos, where Thanare allegedly withdrew 8,000 shillings on the day he went missing. The M-pesa attendant reported that Thanare was alone at the time of the withdrawal.
As the days turn into weeks, Thanare's family continues to search for him, and they have made a public appeal for information on his disappearance. They wonder why anyone would want to hurt Thanare, who had no known enemies.
“Before he went missing, there were no threats to his life,” said Peter Njoroge, Thanare's uncle.
