She left to visit her uncle but never got there, Kakamgega family recal

Francis Mbagaya and his wife Mary Osimbo whose daughter, Faith Mbagaya, has been missing since 2013. [PHOTO: BENJAMIN SAKWA/STANDARD]

KAKAMEGA: In 2013, Faith Mbagaya left her home to visit her uncle in Mombasa and she is yet to get there - two years later.

According to her father, Francis Mbagaya, Faith - who would be 20 now -  left after she realised that her family had no plans to take her to college upon completion of her KCSE exams in 2012 where she scored a C-.

"I miss my daughter. She was disciplined and very hard working. Her siblings also miss her a lot and we have tried our best to find her but in vain," he says.

Faith made sure to leave home when her father was not there because he had told her not to leave for Mombasa.

"She left when I was not at home. If I were around I would not have let her go. Her decision to disobey my instruction has turned our lives into pure agony, which we do not know when it will end," he says.

The father of five, a casual labourer in Kakamega town, is distraught after receiving news that his daughter may have travelled to Saudi Arabia in search of employment.

He worries that his child may have become a slave in a foreign country following media reports of what Saudis do to Kenyans seeking employment in their homes. In some cases they are mistreated, forced to work for long hours and denied food among other cruel acts.

"I fear that if my daughter travelled to Saudi as alleged then her life may have just taken a turn for the worse. We have heard numerous cases of worker's mistreatment in that land," he says.

Attempts by the family, friends and well-wishers to get in touch with Faith have remained fruitless and even more difficult because they have no way of reaching her neither do they have a contact person. They have been to the police stations, the morgue and any other place they thought she could be found but it has been in vain.

"Our search has yielded nothing and the only option remaining is to wait and see if she will come back home soon. I remain convinced that my daughter is still alive. I have not lost hope," Mbagaya says.

The father's pleas now is for his daughter to come back re-assuring her the family is ready to receive her back adding that they hope to put the two-year agony behind them.

"If I had the finances, I would move from place to place in search of my daughter. I am, however, limited and my appeal is for anyone who may know her whereabouts to report to the nearest authorities so we can get our child back," he says.

*The family does not have a recent photo of Faith.