Man missing one year after ‘arrest’

Peter Mwangi Maina, whose brother Simon Karafa Maina disappeared after allegedly being arrested for beating a chief in Lamu. PHOTO | DENNIS ONSONGO | NATION MEDIA GROUP.

A family in Lamu County is searching for a man who has been missing for almost a year since he was allegedly arrested by police.

Mr Simon Maina Mwangi is said to have been drunk when he snatched a cane from Barigoni Chief Salim Abuli Salim, and hit him with it.

The chief called the police, who arrested him.

The day was October 20, last year, and since then, Mr Mwangi’s family has been trying to trace him, in vain.

“His friends told us that he was arrested at around 5pm as he was going home from work.

"He was drunk and when the chief confronted him, they had an altercation and he was arrested,” said Mr Mwangi’s brother, Peter Maina Chege.

He tried calling him, but the call did not go through and he went to Hindi Police Station to check if he was there.

When he arrived at the station, the police told him that his brother was not there.

“I went to Mokowe Police Station the same day, but didn’t find him there, too. I then decided to check at the Administration Police posts in the area, but he was not there and I decided to file a report at Mokowe Police Station.

On November 21, Mr Chege went to Hindi Prison, but still didn’t find him. “I then decided to go from village to village in search of information about him. And this is when I was given the Barigoni chief’s number.”

He called the chief, who confirmed that his brother had assaulted him and that he had handed him over to the police. He, however, refused to give him any more details. But, he claimed, the chief warned him that he, too, could be arrested. After that, he stopped answering his calls.

Mr Salim told the Nation that he did not know the police officers who arrested Mr Mwangi as it was already dark.

“I do not know if they were Administration Police, regular police, or soldiers.”

Since then, Mr Chege has visited many police stations, prisons, hospitals and mortuaries looking for his brother.