What to expect when you report a missing person

Kenya: Over the past few months, we have written about missing persons in this space. Sometimes, the people are reunited and we happily feature the reunions.

There are hundreds of families around the country that suffer silently without knowing the fate of their loved ones. They search in vain. The common trend in these cases is that the affected families feel the police do not move as fast as they would like. Perhaps it is because the officers do not feel the family’s agony. Or again, probably they have received so many cases of missing persons that the have become immune.

Last week, we featured the family of Isaac Musili’s desperate search for him three months after his disappearance last January. The most difficult thing for the family is the fact that Isaac’s phone is still operational. Even after recording the case with CID officers at Kasarani police station three months ago, the family is yet to get any information about their kin’s whereabouts.

“The CID officers keep telling me that the mobile phone operator is yet to give them a printout with all details of how my brother’s line is being used,” says Eric Musili, Isaac’s brother.

Eric is so frustrated that he visited the telecommunications giant ask about the process of getting the so called ‘printout’. “They told me that they give police officers any data and information that would assist them in investigations as long as a formal request is made,” explains Eric.

How then do officers look for missing persons?

We visited two police stations in Nairobi to find out.

“We can’t help you,” the officers retorted after formally introducing ourselves as member of the Press. “We are not allowed to speak to you; unless you are actually reporting a case of a missing person.”

On further prodding, having created a rapport, one officer revealed that not all police stations deal with missing person cases.

conduct searche

“We record such reports but we have to forward them to stations with a CID officer. Regular police don’t conduct searches for missing persons. But even at the CID, one has to be patient and wait for them to come up with conclusions,” explained one of the officers.

CID officers do not ever reveal their secrets to anyone. There is no exception; even family members of the missing person do not get briefed on the process or the extent of investigations. Essentially, even if it lasts years, the officers are not obliged to call and update family members of missing persons to inform them how far investigations have progressed.

And what kind of data do the police require when a case is reported?

“The physical characteristics of the person; where he was last seen; who he was last with; history of mental illness and such information that may offer clues,” says the officer.

“However, in conducting their investigations, they remain secretive. They don’t pin pictures of the person along the streets unless it is a criminal in hiding. It is largely a secretive style of investigations that may leave family members wondering about what is happening.”

In situations where the missing person was a phone user, CID officers have a gadget that can tell the location of the last user of the SIM card. This information is thought to assist them in tracking down people who may assist in finding the missing person.

Eric thinks the officers have not taken the issue of his brother’s missing phone seriously.

the signal

“The first time they told me the line was being used in Kamiti; another time in Huruma; and yet another that the signal emanated from Baba Dogo. The gadget tells them where this phone is but I wonder why that information hasn’t been used to track my brother. They are yet to capture the person using my brother’s phone.”

The officers we spoke to say they do not know how the process entirely works, except for registering a case, which any police officer can do.

The Red Cross Society has a tracing department at all its offices worldwide. Msallam Ahmed, an officer with Kenya Red Cross Society in Isiolo says that the tracing team collects relevant data and information regarding the missing person.

“As they roam the area, this information helps them track the whereabouts of the person. In many cases, we would also need a photo of the missing person for referencing,” he says.

Information regarding the progress of the tracing process may be provided to family members, but only when necessary.