Missing British Citizen Found Drinking With New Friends At Kiambu Pub
This is after detectives from the elite Crime Research & Intelligence Bureau (CRIB) and their counterparts from the DCI Operations branch stormed...
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A British citizen who has been missing since Tuesday, December 6, has finally been found by detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
In their report on Friday, December 9, the 22-year-old man identified as Nelson Newberry, was found at a local pub in Uthiru, Kiambu county, where he was drinking with newly found friends and appeared to be under the influence of drugs.
This is after detectives from the elite Crime Research & Intelligence Bureau (CRIB) and their counterparts from the DCI Operations branch stormed Club Image in Uthiru and found the young man sharing mugs of Keg with local revellers.
Club Image in Uthiru where Newberry was found. /FACEBOOK.DCI
The 22-year- old who went missing on Tuesday at around 11 am had last been seen at Sarit Centre, where he had gone to do a SIM replacement. Since then, Newberry disappeared sending his family and friends into a panic.
The young man has since been reunited with his father who has just jetted in from the United Kingdom (UK) and has been taken to a local hospital for medical treatment.
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.
Sometimes missing persons may never be found due to kidnappings, drowning or hit-and-run accidents and there are many unclaimed bodies in mortuaries.
Embakasi East police commander Francis Kamau weighed in by stating that when a family is working with the police to find their loved one, their cooperation is key.
“We handle many cases daily, and we follow up on them until we succeed or hit a dead end. However, it is up to the relatives to keep bringing updates so that we know how to progress. We give feedback when they seek it,” he stated.
When Is A Missing Person Presumed Dead?
In Kenya, a person is presumed dead if they’ve been missing for seven years. The incident should have been reported at a police station and logged in the station’s occurrence book.
Section 118A of the Evidence Act says: “Where it is proved that a person has not been heard of or seen for seven years by those who might be expected to have heard of him if he was alive, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that he is dead.”
The legal declaration is made by the High Court, despite the absence of direct proof of death; the declaration then prompts the registrar of persons to issue a death certificate to the family.
