Man vanishes after running an errand

MAUREEN ODIWUOR

He left the house to run a regular errand, which he did almost every evening. But the 28-year-old has never returned to his home since that day in September last year.

Steven Owuor was industrious as he used to distribute milk to their regular customers every day.

His day was never complete unless he fed and milked cattle zero-grazed in their compound or delivered the milk to consumers.

His immediate follower Fredrick Owuor says the only challenge he had was handling cash due to his illness. He says he was mentally challenged and could therefore not handle some responsibilities. For that reason, he could not be entrusted with money.

On this day, after he delivered the milk he never returned home on time as he used to.

"Until his disappearance he was very passionate about cows which he handled with great enthusiasm," says his brother.

On the day that Owuor left the house, he had been oddly calm after experiencing epileptic seizures the night before, says his brother.

That morning Owuor never left the house save for his persistence in the evening that he had to deliver the milk despite his mother pleading with him to rest. He left to deliver milk at around 5.30 pm on September 10, last year.

Being the first born in the family, he was respected by his siblings and, therefore, no one went against his wishes. He was therefore allowed to perform his regular duty.

Delivering milk

The homestead where Owuor went to deliver milk was within Jina sub-location in Gem East District where they lived and was less than half a kilometre from his home.

"Only on rare occasions did he stay out for long and those were the days when he passed by the shops to greet a few people before embarking on his journey back home," says his brother.

He says 6.30pm would most of the time find him back within their homestead. His brother, who lives and works in Kisumu, had come visiting on the dark day of their life when Steven did not return home.

"We waited until 7.30pm before embarking on a search mission that began at our customer’s house where he had been sent to deliver milk," Owuor recalls.

They said he left immediately after the delivery and hence wouldn’t know where he might have gone afterwards.

The search was reinforced by villagers who loved him for the warm heart he had and the respect he accorded people around him.

"We mobilised our neighbours who in turn responded positively and helped in the search," says Owuor.

Owuor says that some of the neighbours called their relatives who were in Yala market centre to check out for him. But no one confessed to having seen him.

They searched for him the entire night. By daybreak, they were afraid that something bad might have happened to him. Two weeks before his disappearance, residents of the area had discovered two mutilated bodies in the neighbourhood. They were therefore fearful that Steven could have fallen victim to criminals.

However their fears did not deter them from searching him even at night.

Frantic search

"We searched for him the whole night and were not successful in getting any leads," says Owuor.

The following morning they reported the incident at Yala, Butere and Kisumu Police stations.

"It is more painful because he is slightly mentally challenged. If he was normal, we wouldn’t have been disturbed as much," notes Owuor. Owuor confesses they are slowly losing hope of finding him. He says they have made announcements in local radio stations but no one has come out to say he has been seen anywhere.

"The Underworld might be our last hope before resigning to fate," Owuor pitifully says.

His father James Kabaki says he has been deeply affected by the disappearance of his son.

However, he says the disappearance has taken a greater toll on his wife.

"His mother neither sleeps well nor tends to our farm anymore," says the retired teacher.

Kabaki sends an appeal to whoever might see his son to report to the nearest police station or his son can be reached on 0729073444.

"He was a very humble person," says Kabaki.