Mukuru: Another missing woman sparks fears of foul play
National
By
Harrison Ngola
| Jul 19, 2024
Over the past week, a mystery has surrounded the rising number of missing persons, particularly women, who have seemingly disappeared without a trace.
The latest is Wilkister Ososo, a 27-year-old hawker who was reported missing on June 19 in Mukuru Kwa Reuben, with fears looming of the possible connection to the infamous Kware murders.
Her friend Roseline Atieno told The Standard that she last spoke to Ososo on Tuesday this week when she went to buy samosa from her.
"She left for work but quickly returned to give her caretaker and neighbour two phone numbers - Airtel and Safaricom. She asked them to use these if anything happened to her," Atieno said.
Atieno said she tried calling Ososo's number but it was switched off. Later, she received a call from a man in Thika claiming that Ososo had been arrested and was being held at Thika Police Station.
Atieno said she presented herself at the Thika Police Station. However, when she arrived at the station, the person who had contacted her was nowhere to be found.
Luckily, Atieno had recorded the mysterious phone call in case she did not meet the man who had earlier claimed that he was an officer at the station.
Having not been successful in locating the caller, Atieno filed a missing person's report at the Thika Police Station in Kiambu County.
"There is nothing as disturbing as not knowing where a person is. If one dies, much as it is sad, one has time to mourn and move on, but disappearance is a different experience altogether," she said.
Additionally, she said efforts to trace her friend through the police have hit a dead end and now fears that something bad may have happened to her.
Celine Ososo, Wilkister's mother, recalled her final conversation with her daughter. The exchange took place on the morning of July 6, when she phoned to check on her child's welfare.
"Ososo never failed to check on her child every morning, but this time round she didn't call or text for two days, something that was very unusual. Her child kept calling until the day Atieno called on July 22 to give us the news," she said.
Her mother said she had learnt of a mysterious man that her daughter was dating in Thika town but was very secretive about the affair.
Efforts to get information from the caretaker and neighbour who were the last people to communicate with Ososo have resulted in enmity between them and the family.
Celine said despite obtaining an Occurrence Book (OB) number at Kware Police Station, she was frustrated by lack of progress in the case.
"Nothing promising has been done yet the police keep saying they are tracking the phone but it seems they are just playing around with a loved one at stake in kidnappers' hands and is in danger," she said.
She described her distressing visit to the city mortuary where the bodies of the Kware victims were kept pending autopsy, but she could not recognise any due to severe decomposition.
She revealed that authorities had scheduled them to receive DNA test results at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) offices.
The Ministry of Interior this week recommended the establishment of the office of Coroner General to investigate mysterious deaths.
The proposal announced Tuesday, 16 July, aimed to address concerns about accountability and transparency in cases of suspicious deaths.
Meanwhile, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) has indicated there are 32 cases of involuntary disappearance.