Pilot’s 27 years flight to the unknown

By Robert Wanyonyi

At his prime age and headed for career advancement after training in Israel, the army officer disappeared from his home in Busia never to be seen again.

The mystery of the disappearance of Senior Private George Wycliffe Ateka of the Kenya Air Force has been painfully narrated for the last 27 years.

He was last seen in Eshirombe village, Butere District in July 1982, a few days before the infamous August 1,1982 coup attempt.

For the ambitious 27-year-old officer, the sky was literally the limit. He had just been promoted to the rank of Senior Private after training in Tel-Aviv, Israel.

"He came home a few days before the coup and promised to come back later since he had initiated plans to build a house. Little did we know he would never return," laments his mother Gladys Nyangweso.

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The ailing woman moves to tears as she narrates the hustles they have gone through trying to trace their son since then.

"We have been to various offices including Kenya Air Force’s Eastleigh Air Base where he was based but our efforts have borne no fruit," adds Nyangweso.

Mzee Jackson Indetie, father to the missing Air Force pilot Wycliffe Ateka.

After years of fruitless search, the family resigned back home as reality begun to dawn on them that Ateka might have been killed during the coup attempt.

His father Jackson Indetie, told CCI that the family wants the Government to provide any information regarding his son’s mysterious disappearance since he was in the Government service.

"I want to be told what happened to my son. No information has been forthcoming since 1982, not even a penny from his pension. If he was killed, can’t we even be shown his body and pay our last respects?" asks Indetie.

The old man says the family has suffered mental anguish but still believe, albeit faintly, that one day their son will return.

"We never assume that someone has died until we see his body and positively identify it. We believe he is still alive somewhere," says the old man.

Ateka’s uncle, Hannington Chiteri, who sponsored his education up to Form Four at Eastleigh Secondary School, Nairobi is a sad man.

Chiteri thought their efforts were bearing fruits when in 1985, three years after the disappearance, they were summoned to Eastleigh Air Base to be given some ‘important’ information.

"We were very excited. But another shock awaited us at his former station. A junior soldier came to meet us and handed over Ateka’s Identity Card without giving any explanation," recalls Chiteri.

He adds that they tried to extract more information from the officer but they realised he was just a messager sent to hand over the ID. They gave up and left. That is when it dawned on the family that Ateka may have died. Elaborate Luhya burial rites for a person whose body can’t be traced were conducted.

"Though we still had doubts, we decided to conduct a mock traditional burial that included burying a banana stem and normal feasting. Still, something tells me that he isn’t dead," Ateka’s younger brother Evans Bill says.

Information regarding his brother’s disappearance has been scanty, just as his memory seems to fade as time elapses.

Mother’s nightmares

"The only important information was that on the fateful day, he was asked to fly a plane from Eastleigh to Nanyuki Air Base. That was the last time his close friends ever saw him," he reveals.

Ateka’s mother says she has had nightmares and dreams over the disappearance. Ateka’s only child, 29-year-old Fridah Ateka, has a faint image of his father.

"I was then only two years old. However, my only comfort has been the many photographs that he left behind, some taken with the family and others while on duty," says Fridah.

While sobbing uncontrollably, Fridah regrets that were it not for the disappearance, she would have completed her education. But with the high level of poverty, she was pushed into an early marriage.

Fridah dropped out of school in Form Two after her grandparents were unable to pay her school fees.

Losing the only breadwinner was challenging for the family of three boys and five girls. The ailing parents have always found it hard to fend for themselves.

"Our son used to look after us very well but since his departure, our lives changed for the worst. We can no longer afford even money for the hospital," says Indetie.

But the family says they would be very happy if the Government provided information on what exactly happened to Ateka.