"I'm alive": Kenyan man reported missing in Australia for 13 years resurfaces

This story has significance for readers across Kenya and beyond.

- John Kibet, a Kenyan man whose family had spent more than a decade searching for him, has reached out

- Kibet, who travelled to Australia in 2010, blamed the prolonged silence on a family misunderstanding

- He shared details of where he had relocated to after leaving Australia before breaking his silence to confirm that he is alive

A Kenyan man whose family had spent more than a decade searching for him has finally broken his silence, confirming that he is alive, safe and living in New Zealand.

John Kibet Lagat reached out after an appeal story detailing his family's desperate efforts to trace him, putting an end to years of worry and uncertainty.

Kibet Breaks His Silence

In his message, Kibet was clear that he had not been missing, describing the extended gap in communication with relatives back in Kenya as a misunderstanding rather than a disappearance.

He also revealed that he had since left Australia and relocated to New Zealand, updating those who had been searching for him on his current whereabouts.

His decision to come forward came directly in response to the public appeal his sisters had made and its subsequent publication.

Kibet's sisters, Nancy Barngetuny and Mary, had gone public with their concern after losing touch with him in 2013, roughly three years after he had travelled to Australia to pursue a Diploma in Communication.

Family Had Searched for Years

According to the sisters, Kibet had been living in Sydney at the time communication with the family reportedly stopped.

For the following 13 years, his relatives said they had been unable to establish where he was or whether he was safe.

In their appeal, they called on Kenyans living in Australia, former friends and classmates, and even the Kenyan government to assist in locating him.

For Nancy, Mary and others who had joined the effort to find him, Kibet's message carries the reassurance they had been seeking for well over a decade.

Kericho Man Reported Missing in UAE Returns

That was the similar case with Mathew Kiprop Lagat, whose relatives feared the worst after he vanished without a trace in Dubai.

The Kericho man finally resurfaced and revealed that he was detained, stripped of his belongings and held in a deportation camp.

With his employer having cut ties with him, authorities deported him back to Kenya, bringing relief and answers to his family.

Source: TUKO.co.ke

Reporting originally appeared via TUKO. Read the full source for additional context.