Kakamega family looking for kin missing since 2004

Jacob Chimwani who got lost in 2004. Chimwani who was a watchman at a public institution fell sick and his fellow workers told him to go home and seek medication at around 11 p.m. He never reached home till then. (PHOTO: BENJAMIN SAKWA/ STANDARD)

Perininah Khatievi Chimwani’s weary expression depicts the agony her family has been facing since her husband and father of her five children disappeared.

Perininah, from Shikangania village in Kakamega, says 2004 is the year her family's life took a turn for the worse after Jacob Chimwani, who worked as a watchman at Sacred Heart Mukumu Girls High school, disappeared.

"Chimwani would report to work at 5.30pm everyday and leave either at 6am or 7am depending on the workday. But on September 18, 2004 he did not come back home as usual," she said.

Perininah said when she went to look for him at his work station, his colleagues told her Chimwani had become sick during the night and they released him to go seek medical attention.

"I could not understand why they let a person who was feeling unwell leave on his own at about 11pm instead of taking him to Mukumu Hospital which was nearby," she said.

The situation was further confounded by the fact that she too worked at the same institution and her husband's colleagues could have easily contacted her.

"When I approached the school's management, expecting them to follow up on the matter, they instead gave me one month leave to go look for him. They told me the family is the one supposed to locate the missing person and not the school," she said.

Perininah said she went back to work after this time lapsed and told her boss the findings but they terminated her employment contract.

"Chimwani and I used to help each other fend for the family but since his disappearance, it has been 12 years of endless struggles. Our children were forced to drop out of school and I did not have enough funds to provide for them," she said.

Her husband's disappearance was reported at Khayega and Kakamega Police Stations where officers helped in the search but all in vain.

"Whenever any un-identified person was found, the officers would call me to see if my husband was among them. I have been to mortuaries, hospitals and churches but none of these has yielded any results," she said.

Perininah says she also extended her search to Kisumu, Vihiga and Bungoma counties as well as nearby towns but her efforts only resulted in more emotional pain.

"The anxiety caused by looking for a lost one is a personal pain that no one else can understand," says the distraught woman.

She says although her children are now grown, they still ask where their father is. Their questions and the fact that their lives have been disrupted due to their father's disappearance further adds to her sorrow.

"I am always confused. I do not know if he is still alive or dead since his body has never been found. I will be at peace once I know what happened to him and if he died then I must bury his body or bones for this family to begin healing," she said.

Anyone with information on Chimwani's disappearance can get intouch with us via email: [email protected]