By Maureen Mudi

Although she got married to a man least known to her family, Esther Charity Malonza’s siblings were convinced she would lead a happy life.

Having been orphaned at an early age, Malonza and her two brothers and a sister had a difficult early life. At some point, they had to drop out of school for lack of fees.

Finally, they reckoned, she had to start a new life by getting married. It was an honour to the family for her to get married though it later brought some profound worries when she disappeared without any warning.

Nicholas Richard Ngali during the interview in Mombasa.

His missing sister Charity Malonza. Photos: Omondi Onyango

Her marriage had not been as blissful as expected due to constant financial constraints that even forced her and her husband to move out of town.

Life was difficult as they were living from hand to mouth. Her relatives say going hungry was common to the young couple.

Malonza’s brother, Nicholas Richard Ngali, is one unhappy man and almost wishes that they never ‘sold off’ her sister to a stranger for marriage.

"There was no official introduction. They just begun an affair and started living together," recalled Ngali.

"Even though we had struggled since childhood, I wouldn’t wish my sister to just disappear that way. At times I recall the hardships we underwent and wish she was now here to enjoy the fruits of our labour now that things are better," he added.

It was in 2002 when his sister casually told them that she had gotten a husband and wished to start living with him.

"We were happy for her but never got close to know what they were going through. The husband was from Kisii and seemed quite hardworking," Ngali said with a sad look on his face.

He says they lived in Likoni, Mombasa from 2002. Neighbours later told Ngali that the couple was not doing well financially.

Born and brought up in Mombasa, Ngali and his siblings were a happy lot and had a united family, their abject poverty notwithstanding.

But in 1997, their father and only breadwinner passed on, leaving their mother to fend for the whole family.

As fate would have it, in 2000, Ngali’s mother also died leaving the children alone.

"We went through schooling with a lot of hardships. Our uncle who took us in ensured that we got the basics and enabled us to cope," he said.

Once they were grown up to fend for themselves, they looked for casual jobs within Mombasa town and that is when Malonza announced that she had gotten a suitor.

In 2003, Malonza gave birth to a baby girl whom she named Gift due to the hardships they underwent until her time of delivery.

Her husband, who was a matatu driver plying the Likoni-Kwale route, was a man of few words and even his colleagues knew very little about him.

She managed to start a grocery business near their home and spent most of her time at her stall.

Ngali remembers the last time he met his sister. She informed him that they were relocating to Nairobi though she never specified what they were going to do and where they had chosen to settle. That was the last time she saw or ever heard from her.

"A few weeks after they travelled, I tried to contact my sister through her husband’s number but it did not go through," he recalled tears rolling down his cheeks.

He had to contact their former neighbours who further said the couple had reportedly moved to Kisii since town life was proving difficult for them.

Days of searching for them turned into months and later years. Ngali and his other siblings remained with the solace that their sister was just happy fulfilling her duties as a wife.

However, they were never satisfied that she just went without informing them.

"Within the few months I knew my brother-in-law, he appeared to be a down to earth and social person. We never heard of any marital problems between them," said Ngali.

They travelled to Nairobi and Kisii on several occasions in search of the couple but could not trace them. Ngali says they did not know where to search and returned to Mombasa.

After their search turned unsuccessful, they reported the disappearance at the Makupa Police Station as the siblings kept on hoping that they would one day see their sister.

Ngali says his sister was an open-minded person and never kept grudges.

"I may never understand why they chose to be silent. My other siblings depend on me to find our third born and I have to struggle and ensure somehow I realise the dream," he said.

He adds that before their mother’s death, the siblings had promised to stick together at all times. He says his sister’s disappearance has not watered down his zeal to keep the promise.

"I am so determined and I believe my late parents are protecting her and all of us wherever they are. I hope one day we shall re-unite with her," he says.