- Kokoh told the Star that he left his daughter at a friend's shop in the city and walked to a cyber cafe but when he came back, the girl was nowhere.
- The friends at the shop said Atieno followed her dad when he left for the cyber.
Image: COURTESY
It has been a desperate one month for Joseph Kokoh since his 13-year-old daughter disappeared in Nairobi on August 6.
Monicah Atieno was with her father as they prepared to leave the city for Mombasa that day. Their four-month sojourn in Nairobi had come to an end, thanks to the lifting of Nairobi lockdown due to Covid-19.
Kokoh told the Star that he left his daughter at a friend's shop in the city so he could do some tasks in a cyber cafe.
But when he came back, the girl was nowhere. That was the last time he saw and heard from his daughter. Every day has been anguish.
The friends at the shop said Atieno followed her dad when he left for the cyber.
Kokoh believes his daughter was abducted and is being held against her will. He says the girl is so fond of him that she cannot stay away from him for more than a day without getting in touch.
"I have done all I can to get some leads to where my daughter is. I'm devastated," a desperate Kokoh said.
The incident left him a distraught father. "I've since gotten withdrawn as everyone becomes a suspect," he said.
Father and daughter found themselves locked up in Nairobi on their way to Mombasa from Homa Bay. Their journey started in March when schools were abruptly closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Atieno was a student at Gates Academy in Homa Bay. She went to stay with one of her teachers as her parents made arrangements to pick her.
The lockdown imposed by President Uhuru Kenyatta on April 6 found them in Nairobi. It meant the journey from Homa Bay to Mombasa was halted.
Kokoh quickly made arrangements with a family friend in the city to accommodate them. Their stay kept prolonging as the lockdown measures were extended after every three weeks.
So it was a big relief when the restrictions were lifted. Kokoh and his daughter were preparing to leave for Mombasa. That was how they ended up in the City Centre from where he believes the daughter was abducted.
"I believe my daughter is alive and someone is holding her against her will," Kokoh said.
He said they were fond of each other and had trained her on how to be safe and get in touch with him in case she faced a threat. That has, however, not happened since August 6.
Atieno's disappearance was reported at Central police station under OB number 102/07/08/2020. Nothing has come through.
"My daughter is always in good spirits and cannot get lost. She was raised in Nairobi and she knows her way around. She has all my contacts and I trained her on what to do in case of emergencies."
Kokoh added, "She is a strong girl and the only way she could get lost is when she is suddenly subdued and taken to a place where she cannot communicate."
"I have done all I can to get my daughter back. This is the longest she has been away from my presence."
Asked whether someone has got in touch with him to demand anything, Kokoh asserted that no call for ransom has come to him.
"Not all abductions are for ransom. There are other things that are done to abducted children that I don't even want to imagine could be happening to my daughter," he said.
Edited by P.O