‘Where is my fiancé?’

By Hezron Kimary

A middle-aged woman from Mwatate in Taita Taveta County is in distress after her fiancé, James Mwamburi, went missing on Monday, October 7.

Mwamburi’s father, Swale Nyongo, told K24 Digital that he last saw his son in the company of youthful men, who had gone to his [Nyongo’s] homestead in California Village in Landi, Mwatate to buy a cow from Mwamburi.

Swale said the men told Mwamburi, 32, that they wanted to add the cow to a herd of cattle they were planning to use in dowry negotiations.

“After identifying the cow that they wanted, they left. Mwamburi accompanied them,” said Nyongo. “That was the last time we saw him.”

Swale says attempts to reach Mwamburi on phone have been futile as his mobile device remains switched off.

Mwamburi’s mother, Mercy Waleghwa Kinyongo, was too grief-stricken to speak about the incident.

Mwamburi, an electrician who also owns a motorbike garage in Mwatate, was scheduled to exchange wedding vows with her fiancée, Dorcas Wairimu, in December 2019.

The missing person had introduced Wairimu to his family and members of his church, and wedding plans, including a committee, had been put up.

Reverend Jepherson Nyambu of Esau Pentecostal Church in Landi, where Mwamburi worships, says he is baffled by the church youth leader’s disappearance.

Wairimu, Mwamburi’s soulmate, says she is hurting, given she was looking forward to spending the rest of her life with “my lover of many years”.

“I last talked to him last Monday, October 7, at 8:38am,” said Wairimu.

“He did not tell me that he was planning to go anywhere. I was shocked on Tuesday evening, when I was informed that he had gone missing. One thing I am sure about is that James couldn’t go anywhere without informing me,” said Wairimu.

“I urge anyone with information in regard to his whereabouts to inform us through the police.

“Last Wednesday, I looked for him in police cells, hospitals and morgues in Mwatate and Voi to no avail. I have looked for James all over [Taita Taveta]. He was a God-fearing man. I trust that the way he served God as a Christian minister, God will protect him. We had planned to get married in December [2019], but we have now been forced to put the plans on hold until we find him,” said Wairimu.

Police in Mwatate say they have launched a search for the missing person.