In Gachiriro, Discovery Area, Mwihoko, Kiambu county, a three-and-a-half-year-old boy went missing from his home. He was last seen by a woman who noticed him entering another neighborhood, but she didn’t follow up because she assumed he had a guardian with him. Meanwhile, the little kids who were playing with him in the estate’s compound had no idea when he left their company.

Concerned for their child’s safety, the Kiambu family reached out to friends and relatives, seeking any information about their little one’s whereabouts. Unfortunately, this incident occurred just a month after another tragic case in Kisii, where a two-year-old boy, Baby Lyon, was reported missing and later found dead, floating in a river. Baby Lyon had disappeared while playing with other kids during a visit to Kisii with his mother, Ivone Nyambate Omwamba.

Disturbingly, between June 2022 and July 2023, Kenya’s Labour and Social Protection Cabinet Secretary reported a total of 6,841 missing children. Although some 1,296 children have been reunited with their parents and caregivers, many families remain in anguish, uncertain when security officers will find their loved ones.

The public has been deeply affected by these heart-wrenching incidents, with netizens expressing their sorrow and condemning the perpetrators responsible for harming innocent souls like these children. The pain and grief experienced by the families of the missing children are immeasurable, and the hope for justice and a safe return for those still missing weighs heavily on everyone’s hearts.