Anger drives woman from home

By Nicholas Anyuor

It is now13 years since their sister left home never to return, but the family still believe she is alive and well.

Linet Akoth Odida left her home in Sota village, West Kadem Location in Migori County in 1999 after a slight disagreement with her siblings and has never communicated with them ever since.

She left home a bitter woman after accusing her siblings of failing to ensure she proceeded with her studies after she completed her Form Four education. Her parents had died after she completed school.

The last time the family heard about Akoth was in 2003, when she sent her clothes home on a bus from Mombasa. The bus dropped the luggage at a relative’s shop in Migori town with no word from her to her relatives.

no explanation

The luggage contained her clothes, which were wrapped in a polythene bag.

They expected to at least find a note explaining when she would return home or what she was doing in Mombasa.

When the bus conductor was asked about the whereabouts of Akoth, he could not explain.

He said the luggage was given to them by a woman who paid for its delivery, adding it was difficult to know her.

Akoth’s brother, Felix Otieno Odida, 28, says after they were informed about the bag, they rushed to pick it hoping it had some message from their sister.

"We found the clothes but there was nothing to tell us where she was although the bus was from Mombasa. We felt disappointed," says Otieno.

Otieno says after receiving the clothes, they decided to call friends and relatives who were living in Mombasa to search for her there. However, there were no positive responses.

"No one had seen or heard from her in Mombasa. Relatives there were even shocked to learn that she could be in Mombasa. This brought back the hopelessness in our search," he admits.

The first disappearance of Akoth was one mid-morning in 2008 when the second born child in the family of six differed with her eldest brother over payment of her school fees. This happened after she had received an admission letter to join Eregi Teachers Training College for her P1 training.

"This came after the death of her parents. There were serious financial problems at home. After realising she could not join college, Akoth became wild and left home," recalls Otieno.

KCSE exam

Akoth sat her KCSE examination at Bande Girls’ High School in 1997 and got C+, but she could not join college due to lack of fees.

"She left late in 1998 a bitter person because she accused our brother of refusing to pay her school fees," Otieno says.

A search was launched and all friends and relatives alerted about her disappearance.

The day when Akoth left home, she didn’t carry anything with her.

However, a year later there was relief when she returned home un-announced.

"We were very happy when she came back. We saw it as a reunion without our parents," recalls Otieno.

But the joy never lasted long. When her siblings left her at home as they were attending to their daily activities, Akoth disappeared again.

"After some hours when no one was home, she again went missing. Up to date we have not heard from her. When she came back, she refused to explain where she had been," he says.

The family members launched a search in all the nearby towns such as Migori, Rongo, Awendo, Sori and Homa Bay. They thought she had gone to these towns in search of a job.

One day, rumour went round that Akoth was employed by a security firm in Mombasa.

confirmations

This was further confirmed when they received her clothes from Mombasa. In her clothes, they found her payslips indicating she was working with a security firm there.

"When we called the firm’s headquarters, we were told she had never worked for the firm. They said they didn’t have such a name in their list of employees," Otieno says.

After the post-election violence, the siblings scaled up the search as they hoped the chaos would bring her back home.

"We have no ill-feelings, but we thought the violence could displace her from wherever she was. We really want our sister back, we loved her so much," Otieno says.

big dilemma

Since Akoth has been missing for 13 years now, most of her younger siblings cannot identify her if they saw her.

"Our last born is now a university student and cannot identify her. Even the elderly siblings might have difficulties identifying her," he adds.

Otieno says when Akoth returned home briefly in 1999, she left with her academic papers and clothes.

"She left when my brother had a phone and she had his number, but she has never called to tell us where she is," says Otieno.