A family from Tuthu area in Kangema, Murang’a county, is seeking help in finding their relative who disappeared on May 13.
Erick Irungu, 23, a fourth year student at Co-operative University of Kenya at the Karen campus, disappeared shortly after making a phone call to his mother Joyce Wanjiku.
On Easter Sunday, Irungu had met up with his cousin at Gataka shopping centre in Nairobi when he made the call at 5 pm.
Wanjiku told journalists that the cousin then left him at the shopping centre and that he has not been in contact with any family member since then.
“When I talked to him I was not at home so at 9 pm as I prepared to go bed, I called him but he did not receive the call which was unusual. I tried again at 10 pm and he also did not pick up.”
On Easter Monday, Wanjiku said she tried reaching her son numerous times through-out the day and the phone calls still went unanswered.
It was on Tuesday morning that the phone went off and has been not been switched on since.
Alarmed, Wanjiku reached out to the cousin and urged him to visit the institution to find out if he had been seen as he had a Continuous Assessment Test (CAT) on Wednesday.
But the cousin was told that Irungu, who stayed outside the school compound, had been seen before Easter Friday, the school then referred him to two friends—a woman and man—who knew where he lived.
“He had told me on Sunday that he was preparing for the CAT so I did not expect him to miss school,” the mother said.
At the residence, the three were told by the caretaker that Irungu was last seen on Easter Sunday.
Wanjiku said the family then visited City Mortuary thinking he may have been involved in an accident and later to Kenyatta National Hospital where again he was not found. They later made a report at Ongata Rongai police station.
“After that, there is nothing more we could do. We are just wondering where he is and whether he is safe,” the mother said.
Irungu’s uncle Onesmus Maina described him as a quiet man, adding that even during school breaks he stayed at home and avoided the company of other young men loitering in the village.
His academic performance has also been good and consistent, Maina added, saying the family is at a loss on his whereabouts.
The family is now asking anybody who may have seen him on or after Easter Sunday to reach out or report to the nearest police station.
“We have been unable to continue with our daily activities until we find him. The suffering the family is going through is immense,” Kigumi Karuri, a family friend and neighbour, said.
