Joshua Ochieng’, a Dubai-based trader, said the disappearance of his wife of 20 years has left him scared for his life and the lives of his children. He did not cite a specific threat to himself. The husband of the missing rights activist and campaigner against extrajudicial killings on Monday said his own life is in danger. He said he fears he could be the next target. His wife, Carolyne Mwatha, was reported missing since Thursday last week. Ochieng’ said he flew back on Sunday to join the search for his wife.Mwatha was a senior manager and founder member of the Dandora Community Justice Centre. It is a human rights lobby group, famous for documenting cases of extrajudicial killings and police brutality.
Ochieng’ last communicated with his wife via WhatsApp on Wednesday. “We were chatting almost the whole night on Wednesday. On Thursday morning, she texted me good morning but due to time difference, I responded late,” he said. He said he unsuccessfully tried calling Mwatha on Thursday. Twice, someone received the call but did not speak. Ochieng’ claims he had tried calling her several times, but the calls were unsucceful.He thought she was maybe hed up in a meeting since her job was wanting. He got alarmed when his wife failed to return any of his calls and reached out to her workmates, who told him she had not reported to work.
He expressed anxiety over the safety of his daughter. “My wife went missing while taking our daughter to school,” he said. “I’m not sure how safe my daughter will be,” he said. Mwatha’s work includes the meticulous documenting of a case in which police killed six men at the Dandora dumpsite in Phase II in a brazen shooting in August last year.
Wilfred Olal, the coordinator of the Dandora Community Justice Centre, said Mwatha had not reported receiving any threats to her life before. He is the convenor of all justice centres fighting police brutality and extrajudicial killings in Nairobi’s informal settlements. “We cannot rule out anything. The nature of the work we do is really risky and as a centre, we receive numerous threats,” he said.
Police had promised to extract Mwatha’s last call logs from Safaricom and release them to the family on Monday, but this did not happen. They appeared evasive, telling Star journalists and the family at Dandora police station that the data would be availed at Buru Buru police station. At Buru Buru, the officers referred the journalists and the family members to Dandora.
The offices of the centre at Dandora was a beehive of activity as leaders of human rights outfits held long meetings. Kenya Human Rights Commission executive director George Kegoro said the disappearance of Mwatha is “chilling and we hope the police produces her alive”.
Her family is deeply worried that she could become part of the statistics she documented. Mwatha’s colleagues said she had informed them on Tuesday last week that she was not feeling well and would not report to work but throughout Wednesday, her phone went unanswered. “At this point, we really got worried because Carol is not the type who does not communicate,” colleague James Omondi said. Omondi dismissed the notion that the centre has been defending criminals, putting rights defenders at loggerheads with the police. “We agitate for the rights of everybody, police or civilian,” he said.