Residents of Enchoro village were on Monday filled with joy as they welcomed one of the teachers who were feared dead following a deadly attack by suspected Alshabaab Militia late last year.
Ezra Onchong’a 38, a teacher at Mandera Primary had informed his family about his planned journey on the fateful day only to go offline till recently.
According to his brother Festus Okemwa, Onchong’a was to travel on that fateful day but failed to show up besides his phone going offline. After hearing of the attack they tried to reach him but in vain.
Efforts for the family members to identify Onchong’a’s ‘body’ proved futile since he was not among those airlifted to Nairobi’s city morgue for identification.
“His phone was not reachable neither was his body among the 28 victims. We had lost hope and just reported the matter to authorities for an intensive search,” said Okemwa.
However, Onchong’a, in robust health and full of joy, on Friday astonished many villagers who had forgotten about him.
According to him, he never travelled to Nairobi the material day, but later did travel to the neighbouring Ethiopia to visit a friend whom, he said he had known for years.
“I am sorry for having gone missing without notice. I had gone to Ethiopia to visit a friend. I stayed there longer than I expected due to insecurity in the North Eastern part of Kenya,” revealed Onchong’a.
He added that he will soon go back to North Eastern to resume his duties since the area has been just like his home and urged the government to beef up security in the area.