Beatrice Mwangi did not expect to endure a mother’s worst nightmare after her 11-year-old daughter Esther disappeared.
She had sent Esther on a short errand to the local supermarket. Mwangi’s family resides in Kenya’s capital Nairobi. It was a routine task she had done countless times before. But on that day in December 2022, Esther never returned home.
“As supermarkets are always full I thought there was a queue,” Mwangi told DW. “I gave her some time but when it reached 18:20 she did not come back. So I rushed to the supermarket to check but she wasn’t there”
Gone without a trace
The worried mother eventually went to the police station to search for her daughter, but she was nowhere to be found. “We have been following up with the police. Every day we go to the police station looking for her, but nothing,” a distressed Mwangi said.
Hours turned into days, days into weeks, and weeks into months, and now she says it feels like a torturous eternity.
Beatrice’s story is not unique. Stephanie Atieno had left her daughter 12-year-old Akunda, playing outside before she disappeared without a trace in November last year.
Hoping against all odds
Atieno’s days became an agonizing cycle of searching, praying, and holding back tears. Every familiar face on the street seemed to taunt her with the painful reminder that her daughter was still missing.
“Against all odds, our hopes are high that we will find Akunda safe and sound. That is all that we are hoping for now,” Atieno told DW.
According to Kenya’s Labour and Social Protection Cabinet Secretary Florence Bore, 6,841 children were reported missing between July 2022 and May 2023.
Happy reunion for some families
Some 1,296 children have reunited with their parents and caregivers, but many parents of the missing children are helpless, not knowing when security officers will find their loved ones.
“The agents of darkness who prey on our children are evolving every day,” Bore stated. “A number of children have gone missing from their homes, their neighborhoods, in schools or institutions of care.”
Some missing children ‘trafficked’
The increase in missing children has left families devastated and communities in distress. Maryana Munyendo, the CEO of the Missing Child Kenya Foundation, said. According to Munyendo, most children reported missing may have been trafficked out of the country.
“The issue of missing children is a problem in Kenya and it’s not just unique to Kenya as a country it’s also common in other developing African countries,” Munyendo told DW.
“It’s an issue that was never spoken about before and right now we are in a good space because the government and different partners have started talking about it,” Munyendo said, adding that they were making headway in tackling the mystery of missing children in the East African nation.
Steps to protect children
The country’s Department of Children’s Services says it has taken several steps to combat the disturbing trend. These include intensifying efforts to locate missing children through enhanced collaboration with law enforcement agencies and the public. Yet, despite these efforts, challenges persist.
As the search continues for missing children, affected communities organize awareness campaigns and call for support for families with missing children.
The hope is that children like Esther and Akunda can safely reunite with their loved ones with increased public involvement and support.
Source: Deutsche Welle