Six schoolgirls that had 'disappeared' found

Five of the found girls are KCSE candidates and the other one is a form one student. They were found in Thika, Kiambu County [Photo: Courtesy]

Six female students who had gone missing a week ago have been traced to a remote village in Thika, Kiambu County.

The students from New Nyaga Day Secondary School in Gatanga, Murang’a County, were discovered in a residential building in Kiganjo village, Thika West.  

The five are Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) candidates and a Form One student.

On Saturday, the three were traced to a locked room suspected to belong to a man from Kiunyu that neighbours Nyaga sub-location.

Help of tenants in the building led to the discovery of three others in a nearby building.

The girls' disappearance was reported to their parents after they failed to resume school after the midterm break on Tuesday. Two had asked for money from their parents before they disappeared.

A day later, a student called her mother saying they were married in Dandora in Nairobi without giving more details.  

Stephen Karanja, a parent, said they learnt the girls rode on motorcycles towards Thika on Tuesday.

On Saturday, he said, they were guided by a good Samaritan to the building where they found their daughters.

“It was at around 11am when a caller revealed their whereabouts and I mobilised other parents to Kiganjo village. At around 4pm, we found three girls locked in a room,” said Karanja.

The six were transported to Makongeni Police Station for interrogations with police seeking to establish the motive and identity of those who lured them to Kiganjo village.

New Nyaga principal Mr Noah Kabuthi Mwangi said the six were friends and they all failed to show up in school after end of half-term break.

“The girls were in the hands of the parents but their disappearance had been reported to authorities to facilitate search,” said the principal.