He left for Uganda four years ago and has not been back

On August 20, 2012, Moses Wamayuyi left home that fine morning saying he was going to Uganda.

It was not unusual for Moses to leave his home in Chepkube, Mt Elgon, and cross over to Uganda so when he said he was going there, his family bade him farewell as they were used to. Little did they know that was the last they would see of him.

And now — four years later — agony, pain and worry has become his family’s lot as they try to understand what could have happened to the 52-year-old father of seven.

His wife Jenipher Khakasa says since her husband disappeared, life has become unbearable because he was the breadwinner.

She said some of her children have been forced to drop out of school due to lack of school fees and they are now languishing in abject poverty.

“Our first born is now married while two of our boys, who completed class eight, could not proceed to secondary school due to lack of funds. I am struggling to ensure that the younger ones complete their primary education,” Jenipher said.

Remembering the fateful day, Jenipher said she expected her husband back home in the evening and when he did not show up, she immediately alerted friends and relatives to find out if he had gone to visit them. No one knew where he was.

“When days went by without hearing from him, I went to nearby hospitals, mortuaries, churches and even reported his disappearance to Chepkube Police Station but I am yet to receive any news of his whereabouts,” she said.

Jenipher recalls how sweet life was before her husband went missing noting that the children had no fear of being sent back home for lack of fees.

“Now things have become rough. Cases of people, especially men, getting lost after crossing to Uganda from this area are worrying. It must be investigated because I do not know if they usually fall into the water, are kidnapped or killed since their bodies have never been found,” she said.

She said her husband would call her every time he was out, keeping her up to date on his whereabouts and informing her if he would come home late.

“This day was different because he left his phone charging in a nearby kiosk which has made it difficult to track him. Since my husband disappeared, our lives have gone from good to bad,” she lamented.

Jenipher says her greatest torture comes from not understanding why he would choose to abandon his children and says she is willing to forgive him if he can come back and explain himself to her.

“If he is alive, I want him to know that the children he left behind have suffered a lot and they still need him. He needs to come back now,” she said.

Another source of torment is not knowing whether her husband is dead or alive.

“Not knowing his whereabouts gives me sleepless nights. I remember it rained heavily that day he got lost and this makes me wonder whether he may have drowned in the swollen river.

I have been camping at the river shores, have gone for prayers from different people but still no sign of him,” she says.

For Jenipher, each day is a bitter pill to swallow that her husband is gone and she has been left to live life as a single mother. She, however, keeps hope alive and is urging anyone with information of her husband’s whereabouts to inform the nearest police station or email: [email protected]