Police in Emuhaya, Vihiga County, are investigating three separate kidnapping cases reported in West Bunyore and North East Bunyore, after two victims were found dead in River Yala while another man remains missing.
The incidents, reported in West Bunyore and North East Bunyore, have prompted concern among residents, with police confirming that one suspect has been arrested as investigations continue.
Emuhaya Police Commander George Opere Ongozi confirmed that one of the deceased was Police Constable Manaseh Olambwe Ndakala, a 46-year-old officer attached to Emusire Police Station.
Ndakala’s body was recovered from River Yala on Saturday, October 31, 2026, in Omindo Village, Gem Sub-County, Siaya County, nearly two weeks after he disappeared.
According to a police report on November 2, the officer went missing on October 17, with a missing-person report subsequently filed at Emusire Police Station on October 22.
His body was spotted by a resident grazing livestock near the river, who alerted local authorities. Police officers, assisted by members of the public, retrieved the remains before transferring them to Coptic Private Hospital Mortuary in Luanda, Vihiga County, pending a postmortem examination.
The second victim was identified in media reports as Baba, a 21-year-old man from Emwatsi in West Bunyore, whose body was also recovered from River Yala following an alleged abduction.
According to reports, individuals suspected of abducting him allegedly posed as police officers and arrived at his home in a Probox before taking him away. The circumstances surrounding his death have not been independently established.
Ongozi spoke after visiting Ndakala’s family at their home in Ebuyangu, where he assured relatives that the government would cater for the officer’s burial expenses in accordance with police service regulations.
He also confirmed that one suspect had been arrested as detectives pursued investigations into the reported incidents.
Meanwhile, Wilson Mukuna, from Ebukholi, Esibuye, remains missing, with police yet to establish the circumstances surrounding his disappearance.
Ongozi said investigations into Mukuna’s case were ongoing as officers worked to establish his whereabouts.
His disappearance has triggered protests in Esibuye, where residents took to the streets demanding government intervention and intensified efforts to trace him.
The demonstrators expressed concern over Mukuna’s continued absence and called on security agencies to help establish what happened to him and reunite him with his family.
Separately, Ndakala’s family, led by his mother, Florida Ndakala, appealed for financial assistance, saying they had experienced difficulties raising the resources required to retrieve his body from River Yala.
The family also highlighted the challenges facing the two young children the deceased left behind as they prepare for his burial.
With two victims dead and Mukuna still missing, investigators face the task of establishing the circumstances surrounding the separate incidents, determining whether they are connected and identifying anyone else involved.
Police investigations are ongoing, while Mukuna’s whereabouts remain unknown.
