ODM MCA candidate goes missing for a month, family says

The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) ward rep candidate for Kajulu, Kisumu County, Clifford Mwallo, has been missing for almost a month, his family has said.

According to his wife, Elizabeth Odhiambo, the couple last communicated on June 5, when he was about to board a plane at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) for China to collect campaign materials.

Mrs Odhiambo said on Sunday that her husband was cleared by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to contest the seat but disappeared a week later.

"I took him to the Kisumu International Airport and saw him off. He later communicated to me when he was boarding [a plane for] Dubai, from where he was to connect to China. We never heard from him again," said Mrs Odhiambo.

UNLIKE HIM

Mr Mwallo was to be in China for only one week, but his silence has left his family, friends and supporters worried three weeks later.

Mrs Odhiambo said what worries her most is that the politician always communicates with his family when he is away and that his current silence is unusual.

"It is unlike him to go silent on me or the family. He should have communicated by now. We thought he might have extended by some days or a week owing to the rigorous primaries, but when it is now close to a month then it’s worrying and that is why we have reported to the authorities," she said.

She said the immigration department had confirmed that he reached Dubai and that they are currently following up with Emirates airline to confirm whether the politician actually reached his destination.

REPORT

Mrs Odhiambo said the family filed a missing person report at the Kisumu Central Police Station and that the matter is being investigated in Kisumu and Nairobi.

She said that immediately after her husband left, his opponents filed a case in court challenging his nomination.

Mrs Odhiambo is appealing to Kenyan authorities, including the immigration department, to locate her missing husband.