A family in Ole Maa village, Maili Tisa in Kajiado County has been thrown into mourning after the remains of their eleven-year-old daughter who went missing two months ago, were discovered in a thicket a few kilometers from her home.
Priscilla Naserian, a grade four pupil, went missing on April 14, while on her way back home after visiting her grandmother.
The girl’s uncle David Ntureno, who was harvesting honey on Sunday evening, stumbled upon a basket which Naserian was carrying when she left her grandmother’s house, hidden inside a thicket.
The basket, which had the minor’s shoes, traditional Maasai beads and a bottle of milk, was positively identified by her family leading to a search for her body Monday morning.
Samson Ole Mwanana, one of the villagers who helped in the search said they found a skull, limbs, bones and decomposing human remains believed to be of the missing girl. Her clothes were also found next to the bones.
Mwanana noted that since the girl went missing in April, villagers have helped search for her everywhere with a search team even travelling to the neighboring country of Tanzania to look for her.
“The girl has been missing for two months now and we have looked for her everywhere to no avail. Her family had even gone to Tanzania to search for her. Today we have found the clothes she was wearing and the items she was carrying in a basket. We have also found a skull, limbs and human bones,” said Ole Mwanana.
According to the Naserian’s mother, Sylvia Koina, her daughter was very familiar with the route to her grandmother’s house, as she used to send her alone on errands for years.
Koina said her hopes of finding her child alive were dashed when she was informed that a basket which looked like the one Naserian had been last seen carrying had been found in a bush. She positively identified the basket and the items found inside which led to a search around the area.
“We reported at the Namanga police station when she went missing and we were still hopeful that she was still alive, only for her remains to be found in the bush today. I am so heartbroken at losing my child. The basket that was recovered is the one I had given her to carry to her grandmother’s,” said Koina.
Nyumba Kumi elder Dickson Olekisa strongly condemned the incident, saying that it was the first of its kind in the village.
He added that the girl might have been raped before being killed and thrown in the thicket after which wild animals devoured her body.
Olekisa revealed that there were many laborers who work in the farms, who do not have identification cards and their backgrounds cannot be traced, thus posing as a security threat.
“We are deeply shocked and saddened by the sad turn of events. We suspect she must have been waylaid on her way back home by one of the laborers who work in these farms, who then raped and killed her and then hid the basket she was carrying in a thicket,” he said.
Area Chief Robert Lois confirmed the incident and urged parents to be vigilant and exercise extra caution with their children, adding that the culprits would be brought to book.
The remains were taken to Kajiado County referral hospital by officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
By Rop Janet
