Kevin Mboya: Kenyan Man Goes On 2-Day Silence After Travelling 500KM To Surprise Girlfriend

Kenyans took to Twitter on Friday, January 27 to express concern over social media influencer Kevin Mboya who has not posted on the platform for nearly two days.

Mboya on Thursday, January 26 shared a post on Twitter revealing that he embarked on an 8-hour 35 min journey from Nairobi to Kwale to surprise his girlfriend, who was celebrating her birthday then.

He added that he had not contacted her for the previous 24 hours, with the belief that she forgot that he knew when her birthday was.

Nonetheless, this didn’t stop him from embarking on the 502-kilometre journey to the coastal county, carrying a bouquet of flowers and waiting for her outside her office upon his arrival.

A collage of a bouquet of flowers meant for Kevin Mboya’s girlfriend. /TWITTER.KEVIN MBOYA

“I have travelled all the way from Nairobi to Kwale to come and surprise my girlfriend on her birthday. I haven't texted or called her in the last 24hrs, she maybe thinks I forgot it's her birthday. 

“I am waiting for her just outside her office to surprise her. I hope it goes well,” he wrote, posting the bouquet of flowers on Twitter which went viral and was viewed over 3.5 million times.

His romantic acts won the hearts of many Kenyans who begged for updates on the outcome of the surprise. However, the big shocker was that Mboya had not issued any other update on his account after his tweet.

He did not post a new tweet, reply to another user’s tweet or like another user’s tweet, which left many wondering what transpired after.

Soon, the post got the attention of prominent netizens ranging from journalists, celebrities, and government parastatals who all sought to find out what happened to him.

“Hello Kevin, it has been 18 hours since you went to surprise your girlfriend, we are waiting to know if she surprised you instead,” Nation Media Group’s Leon Lidigu stated.

“Update us buana this is now a matter of national interest,” sports journalist Eric Njiru joined the discussion.

“This is now a matter of National Security. It’s almost 24 hours since we last heard from Mboya Kevin. The whole nation is on a knife edge. I urge the kafmen (government) to send the KDF to Kwale,” businessman Ahmed Mohamed stated.

“Wewe, Kelvin! Do you realize the kind of tension and anxiety you are bringing to us? How can we wait for you to announce the results for 19 hours? Are you Wafula Chebukati?” Enock Bett posted.

Others tagged the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) among other security agencies to help track down Mboya while others appealed to media houses such as Viral Tea to air out his plight so that more people can find him.

“It seems you have waited for long. Ingia Hapo Huduma Center Kwale tutakuhudumia vizuri (Visit us at the Huduma Centre in Kwale and we shall serve you well). We are open from 7 am to 7 pm,” Huduma Centre tweeted.

Reporting A Missing Person In Kenya

Once a person goes missing, the family has to report to the nearest police station immediately. This is after the family has confirmed that the person is actually missing by checking with relatives and friends.

There is no national database for missing persons in Kenya. However, each police station keeps a register of those who have vanished in their jurisdiction.

“Nationally, we only have a register of wanted criminals and if you commit a crime today, we won’t automatically label you a criminal. Unless you are on our list of wanted persons,” former police spokesman Charles Owino explained to the Nation.

Once a complainant reports a person missing to a police station, efforts to look for them begin immediately, and the police work with the family to try to find any leads. 

“We try to trace his phone, looking at the last person he talked to or was with,” added Owino. However, he noted that investigations are circumstantial, and police only follow hints of the whereabouts of the missing person. 

Officers outside the entrance of DCI headquarters. /FILE