"Wachawi walimchukua": Student set to join university disappears at night
This story has significance for readers across Kenya and beyond.
• A Form Four leaver from Ibucha-Sironga in Bogichora Ward vanished overnight just weeks before his university admission date • Villagers believe the boy, Onyancha, was allegedly taken hostage by people thought to be practising witchcraft • The incident has rattled the community, with residents calling for prayers and condemning the act as evil A Nyamira County community is grappling with shock and fear after a Form Four leaver who had been admitted to Laikipia University vanished from his home in the dead of night, only to be found the following morning.
The student, identified as Onyancha and the son of a man named Charles, had scored a B- and was expected to begin his university studies on August 18.
He is his parents' only child. Residents of Ibucha-Sironga village in Bogichora Ward say he was allegedly taken hostage by individuals widely believed in the community to be practitioners of witchcraft, locally referred to as abarogi. Community Gripped by Disbelief The incident has left neighbours and community members visibly shaken. One resident said the news spread quickly through the village, catching many families off guard in the early hours. "My husband came home and said, 'You are in the house, and you haven't heard about what just happened?'" one woman recounted. "He then told me that Charles's son had been taken hostage by witches. I rushed here, and I have now found out that it is true." Another villager expressed disbelief that such an episode could occur in what she described as a peaceful and increasingly religious community. "Ever since I came to this village, I have never heard of witches. This is the first time I am hearing that witches have taken this boy hostage," she said, adding that she strongly condemned the act and called for it to cease. Calls for Prayer as Anger Builds A third resident, who appeared among the first to raise concerns publicly, questioned who these alleged perpetrators truly were and why they had targeted a young man on the cusp of a bright future. "Who are these thugs masquerading as witches and taking Charles's son hostage throughout the night?" the resident said. "There are many churches coming up across Sironga Village. These witches should give their lives to Christ." The same resident later appealed to the community to pray collectively against the act, framing it in spiritual terms. "Why are they traumatising Charles's only son, Onyancha? Let us pray against this act. The work of Satan belongs in the darkness. May they be saved before they burn in an ocean of fire." Onyancha was found alive the morning after his disappearance. No formal report of an arrest or police investigation had been shared with the community at the time residents spoke about the matter.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
Reporting originally appeared via TUKO. Read the full source for additional context.