Long wait: Families hold onto hope for missing children to return home

The Government is seeking to enhance surveillance and monitoring along identified trafficking routes. [Courtesy]

At least 1,251 children were reported missing and another 917 were traced and reunited with their families in the period running from January 2025 and June 2026, Parliament has heard.

The data was obtained from the Interior Ministry following a statement sought by Kisii Woman Rep Dorice Donya, who led the lawmakers last month, in condemning the alarming increase of missing children, saying the growing trend in recent months has caused widespread fears, anxiety and outrage among families.

Responding to the statement, National Assembly Committee on Internal Security Chairperson, Gabriel Tongoyo presented the current statistics showing that the highest number of missing children within the said period was in Rift Valley at 439, with 320 traced.

Eastern had 243 cases and 220 traced and reunited, followed by Central with 230 cases of missing children, while those traced and reunited were 160, the number of missing children in Western was 103, while those traced were 69.

For the Coast region, some 83 children were reported missing while 57 were traced, 54 cases were reported in Nairobi and 12 traced in North Eastern 53 cases were reported and 37 traced and Nyanza had 47 cases of missing children and 42 traced.

“The government has taken measures to prevent this by improving investigations and strengthening child protection mechanisms in the county. This includes the establishment and strengthening of child protection gender desks in police stations to provide a child-friendly reporting environment and improve handling of cases involving children,” Tongoyo read a statement signed by Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen.

Tongoyo said that the Government is also seeking to enhance surveillance and monitoring along identified trafficking routes, border points and areas considered vulnerable to child exploitation and trafficking activities.

He noted that the National Police Service (NPS) in collaboration with other government agencies and stakeholders, has implemented various policy and inter-agency interventions aimed at enhancing the protection and safety of children.

Tongoyo stated the inter-agency collaboration in counties, local administration, educational facilities and civil society organizations in responding to cases involving children in addition to using community policy structures to support reporting on children.

“The government continues to undertake community policing interventions aimed at creating awareness on child protection issues, encouraging timely reporting of child abuse, neglect and exploitation. NPS is leveraging on Nyumba Kumi and community policing structures to gather intelligence and support early intervention efforts, and the introduction of stipends will continue a long way,” Tongoyo stated.

But Donya was not convinced by the response, saying it had not elaborated what exactly is being done to protect children in the country yet the statement named various organizations involved in children matters.

“I did not ask for organizations or those who are in charge. I do not know what was wrong in giving details on what the Ministry is doing regarding the missing children you are just evading the responsibilities as the chairperson and the Ministry to take care of our children. I wanted to know the measures being taken to ensure children are safe and their security is guaranteed,” she responded to Tongoyo.

She also had sought the existence and effectiveness of the child protection and rapid response mechanisms, if any, including a national child alert system for missing children as well as policy and inter-agency interventions being implemented to strengthen the protection and safety of children of the country.

Mombasa County MP, Mohammed Zamzam also raised issues with the statement presented, saying that many children have gone missing and it is not right for Tongoyo to say they are giving responsibilities to Nyumba Kumi elders.

“The elders do not have the machinery required to know how children go missing yet others are taken across the border. The issue of security has been a challenge even at the Coast and there is need to push these issues, a proper response should be granted,” Zamzam uttered.

Funyula MP, Wilberforce Oundo, also said that the issue of children's disappearance is becoming alarming and while work has been done on the local administration, the National Government should do much more to protect children.

“In many cases, children are being lured on their way to school in the morning or even in the evening, weekends and school holidays. I want to urge the Government to go out of its way to enhance public education and continuously remind parents of their sole responsibility to take care of their children,” Oundo said.