Soldier’s disappearance that’s a mystery to military

By Vitalis Kimutai Corporal Bernard Kipkemoi Langat, who worked for the Kenya Air Force at the Laikipia Airbase, was by nature a quiet but likeable man.So when he went missing one day in September 2006, his family and colleagues in the military were at a loss where to search for him.For his family, the three years waiting has been torturous, the silence deafening and the loneliness unimaginable.Corporal Bernard Kipkemoi Langat in a past photo.They have searched for him in places they thought he would have gone including hospitals and mortuaries, but three years on he is yet to be traced. They have been to Nairobi, Nakuru, Eldoret and Mombasa but they have not given up yet.Langat, a trained aircraft technician, hailed from Teganda village, Bomet District. He was married to Betty Langat, a teacher at Tagaruto Primary School with whom they have three children.Before his disappearance, Langat had just returned to his base in Nanyuki after spending a week at home with his wife, Betty who was sick at the time.A day before his disappearance, Langat had called his elder brother, Eric Langat a director of Tirgaga Tea factory in Bomet District, informing him that he would deposit some money in his bank account. He had asked him to withdraw the cash and pass it on to his wife. "When I checked my account, I realised he had not deposited the money. His phone was off," Eric recalled."We learnt of his disappearance a few days later when his colleagues telephoned to inquire about his whereabouts as he had not reported to work for days," Erick said.Langat’s colleagues broke into his house at Thangitu Estate in Nanyuki town but found his belongings intact."Two phones had been left on the table but did not have sim cards and there was no sign of struggle," Eric recalled.The family was told by a senior military officer that the soldier’s personal file was clean with no cases of indiscipline.Government’s wordAfter the house was broken into, Langat’s personal effects were stored at the barracks for a month before being transported to his rural home.His colleagues said the soldier had not skipped duty for the entire nine years he had served in the force.The soldier in military uniform. He disappeared without a trace three years ago. His father, John Ngerechi, a former Bomet county council chairman, wrote to Defence Permanent Secretary on May, 15, 2007 seeking information on the mysterious disappearance of his son.The Ministry of Defence responded in a letter dated June, 27, 2007, signed by a Mr Archer R C Nzano for the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of State for Defence."This is to inform you that Corporal Bernard Kipkemoi Langat was reported absent on September 20, 2006 after he failed to turn for duty on expiry of a time off he was given to attend to his sick wife," the letter read in part. It stated that a search had been extended to police stations, hospitals and mortuaries and to Germany where a friend was based but it did not yield any positive results."Corporal Langat has neither contacted his family members nor colleagues and his disappearance remains unknown," said the letter.It further stated: "Having been absent for more than 90 days, as a procedure, corporal Langat was declared a deserter."Ministry of Defence spokesman Bogita Ongeri confirmed this position and said they are still searching for him.His wife recalls that Langat had left his work place on September 10, 2006 and arrived home to see her."On September 15, his colleagues called wanting to know if he was at home as he had gone missing from his work place. They said he had asked for an extension of his off days," Betty told CCI.The last person he is said to have spoken to was his father. He talked to him after he called his wife and found that her phone was switched off.Mr Eric Langat, the lost soldier’s brother.Photo/Peter Ochieng and Courtesy/ Standard"The only thing he complained of while on leave was a colleague who had declined to pay him back a Sh50,000 soft loan he had advanced to him," Betty revealed.The man had apparently failed to repay the money long after the agreed deadline had expired and repeated reminders went unheeded."To date, the man has not repaid the money even after we sent his colleagues to remind him to repay and help our family sort out financial difficulties after the mysterious disappearance of my husband," Betty said. Children’s dilemmaAt the time of his disappearance, his wife, a trained teacher, was unemployed but a year ago, she was employed by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).The couple’s children are not aware that their father has been missing."The children keep asking me where their daddy went to and I tell them he went to work in a faraway station and will be back someday," Betty said.She added: "What can a mother in my situation do? I mean you are paining inside knowing you do not know the whereabouts of your spouse, yet the children expect an answer and you do not want to hurt them by telling them the truth."She says they had been communicating on a daily basis on phone before Langat’s disappearance that has deeply depressed his young family."I never switch off my phone hoping that someday, he might just call or some one might call with positive information of his whereabouts," she said.

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