A family in Karura, Kiambu County has pleaded to President Uhuru Kenyatta to help find their kin who went missing after attending his grand swearing-in held at the Kasarani Sports Stadium in November 2017.
John Waweru Mbugua's family narrated that he left home on November 28, 2017, to witness the swearing-in but has never returned home.
His family noted that Mbugua, who was unemployed at the time, was among a group of youth who were ferried to the stadium in several buses organized by the then Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititiu, to show support for the president-elect.
"He was in one of the buses that had been hired by Waititu but never returned. The chief told him not to go, but he declined, stating that he was an adult with a national identity (ID) card," his family noted.
His cousin, John Waweru, recalled his last moments with Mbugua. He claimed that saw him getting into one of the buses, but he was unfortunately left behind by the convoy which left for the stadium.
When they got to Kasarani, the Kiambu team was asked to stick together in groups as the procession of more than 60,000 awaited to witness the fete. The youth also agreed to meet at a designated spot after which they would head home.
However, as they queued to enter the stadium, the president's motorcade had arrived, prompting his security detail to clear his path as protocol would dictate. It was during this commotion that Mbugua was last seen by his friends.
Waweru claimed that his cousin is among several youths who have gone without a trace. He holds on to hope that Mbugua is still alive and might have just been apprehended by police officers and was in their custody.
"I have searched for his body everywhere including the City Mortuary but to no avail. Several people disappeared on that day, not just him. I want to plead with the government to release them if they had been arrested," he noted.
His mother and sister, Nancy Kamau have called upon the Head of State, whose term is coming to an end, to step in and help them trace and locate their kin with whom they have lost contact with for nearly five years.
"There is not a place we have not looked. We are asking for the government to help us look for him. He (Uhuru) should do something because he has the power to," they pleaded.
Mbugua's story comes amid a directive from the Ministry of Education to schools, banning the hiring out of buses that are used to ferry supporters to political rallies.
