Journalist Parselelo Ole Kantai says he went missing out of caution

Investigative journalist Parselelo Ole Kantai has spoken for the first time since his family reported him missing last week.

Kantai's family had circulated a missing person's poster on social media, appealing to Kenyans to help them find their lost kin.

"Please help me find my brother. He was fine on Tuesday [October 4]. Just fine. Going to a meeting. And then nothing. Total silence. He is an investigative journalist. Please help," Kantai's sister, Resson Kantai, had posted on her Twitter page.

But on Sunday, October 9, Resson updated her followers that her brother had been found and promised that the family would share details on what exactly had happened.

Kantai has since written a statement, saying he hadn't informed his family members of his whereabouts.

"I appreciate that this is a very precarious moment for journalists in this country and worldwide looking beneath the rocks of official narratives. The number of unexplained disappearances of journalists, investigators, whistle-blowers and even regime insiders is beyond alarming. People like me do not usually come back.

"It would be counter-productive for me to disclose what I am working on, and what led me to go offline late last week, despite the security implications of this decision and the tremendous fear that this triggered. I am very sorry for becoming the story," said Kantai in a statement.

He further expressed gratitude to everyone who had shown concern over his disappearance.

"I am yet to grasp the full magnitude of the extreme lengths that my family and close friends went to in looking form me in Nairobi and its environs. I cannot begin to express just how grateful I am for these efforts," he said.