Gone without a trace: Students who disappear

By Maureen Odiwuor

Jason Nyamwanda (left) and Jack Oduor, students of Nairobi University who disappeared [Photos:Maureen Odiwuor/Standard]

It has been a year and a half of torment for Zadock Tado, and two months of anguish for Ochieng’  Owuocha, both parents of Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and Bachelor of Medicine students at the University of Nairobi who disappeared.

Jack Oduor Tado, 30, and Jason Nyamwanda, 22, were second year students at the university, with Oduor pursuing a parallel course in Veterinary Medicine at Kabete Campus while Nyamwanda was a Medical student at Chiromo Campus.

Their fathers narrated to The Standard On Saturday the events before they went missing.

Oduor, the third son of Dr Tado, also a veterinarian, had spent the entire December 2010 at his family home in Kisumu’s Mamboleo estate.

“While here, he was disciplined and looked calm. It never crossed our minds that he would go missing one month later,” says the doctor, visibly in a lot of pain.

Oduor’s recess ended two weeks after the New Year and supposedly returned to college.

The father says the last time they heard from him was January 17, last year, when his mother called him to let him know that a friend of his had lost a parent.

“He told his mother he was in class and that was the last time we heard from him,” says Tado.

He says the first time it dawned on him that his son may have vanished was when he tried to call him two weeks later and the call went unanswered.

Visited hospitals and morgues

“His phone was off for three consecutive days when I tried reaching him. This worried me so much, but I had no contact of any of his friends,” he recalls.

Tado then decided to travel to Nairobi to find out what could have happened to Oduor.

He first made a stopover at Kabete Campus before proceeding to Uthiru where Oduor had rented a house.

“I first went to the institution to inquire from his friends who said it had been long since they saw him and were equally worried.

His ex-girlfriend, he says, was of great support as she led him to his son’s rental house where they found the door locked.

He wrote a letter and pushed it under the door, but two weeks later when he returned, he had not been there.

He convinced the caretaker to break the door and upon entering, they found a cooked meal of fish, which he might have prepared, but left without eating, otherwise everything else looked normal.

“His disappearance was the talk of the estate as even while buying airtime I had people talk about it, but no one had a clue what could have happened,” he said.

Tado later visited various police stations, hospitals, and morgues in a desperate attempt to establish the whereabouts of his son but in vain.

Failed examinations

He reported the incident to Kabete Police Station. He got a printout from his mobile provider, which showed that between January 2 and 17 Oduor had been in Kisumu, unlike their previous belief he was in Nairobi.

“The last call from his mother indicated he was in Ahero, and then later that day, his phone had shown he was in Uthiru, Nairobi.

Tado says they checked with the Immigration office to find out if he might have left the country, but there were no clues to that effect.

But what he found later when he went back to the university left him dazed.

“I was shocked to find out that my son had failed his examinations and I guess his disappearance was because he could not muster enough courage to break the bad news to us,” he divulges.

Tado believes his last born was not for the idea of repeating a class, as was required of him, but wonders why he did not discuss the matter with him.

University of Nairobi Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Associate Dean Seth Kisia says Oduor was a student at the institution and when his father reported his disappearance, they consulted his friends to ascertain if they knew his whereabouts.

“His best friend was also shocked by his disappearance, which he termed mysterious,” says Prof Kisia.

Nyamwanda disappeared on June 29 from his uncle’s house in Kilimani estate in Nairobi.

His father Mr Owuocha, a teacher at Kasagam Secondary School in Kisumu, says he failed to get accommodation in the hostels this semester and would commute from the uncle’s home to campus.

“The last person to set eyes on him was the house help,” says Owuocha.

He said he was informed his son had disappeared at 7pm that day. He said he was informed he left the house barefoot as if within the compound.

“The house help told us he had looked psychologically stressed, but did not talk when he came back but left without his phone and identification as they later came to realise,” he says.

Psychological torture

He says they first reported the incident at Kilimani Police Station then launched searches for his only son in hospitals, and at the City mortuary but there is no clue up to date whatsoever on his whereabouts.

Faculty of Medicine Dean Charles Omuandho says on the Friday he disappeared, the aunt had reported to him he suspected he was under psychological torture and he advised he be taken to see clinical psychologist that Monday.

“It is the same day he disappeared, and I took his picture and details and posted on the notice board. That’s the much we could do,” he says.

The two parents are pleading with anyone with information about their sons, to contact the families.

For any information on their whereabouts contact: Mr Ochieng’ Owuocha on 0722610338 and Dr Zadock Tado on 0725099584