By Our Reporter
A Narok family is in agony after a man of the house disappeared from their matrimonial home 10 years ago after attending a political rally at Uhuru Park, Nairobi in 2007.
Michael Oluoch Onyango then aged 50 left home on Saturday, October 6, 2007 for an Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party rally with friends but he never returned.
According to his wife Jane Oluoch who had been married for 21 years before his disappearance, Onyango who was a taxi driver in Narok town on the fateful day had left his car in Narok town and travelled using his friend’s car.
Upon reaching Nairobi, Mr Onyango is said to have sent his wife a text message indicating that he might be coming back without citing reasons.
“He wrote me a text message at around 6pm that day stating; I have gone on a trip. Take care of the kids and teach them the word of God. Sell the car as I will not be back by Monday”. I was terrified when I received the SMS,”narrated Mrs Onyango.
She added: “I was shocked because that is the least I expected from him. I tried to call him but his phone was off. I called one of his friends who was our neighbour and he told me that my husband had given him the car keys and his mobile phone to bring to me and that he never told them where he was going.”
The mother of four, two boys and two girls aged between 31 and 15 says she reported to police, searched for him everywhere including mortuaries to no avail. Dim hope however manifested itself a month after he disappeared when he sent them a parcel containing four letters inside advising them on how to live life without him.
“We received the parcel and when we opened, we found four letters; one for me and three others for each of the three children who were a bit grown up to read. He told me to take care of the kids, he told the elder son to be the head of the family, and other children to be good children,” states Mrs Onyango.
In the letter to the elder son, she says, he asked him to emulate him in all ways but warned him against running away from home like he did.
The date stamp on the letter indicated that it was from Kisumu Post office and this prompted them to embark on a journey to look for him over there but unsuccessfully.
The wife describes him as a loving, caring husband and father who loved his family and could not imagine how he could be away from them for that long if indeed he was alive and within the country.