A secondary school student from Guruini who had been missing for 10 days was reunited with his family at Lari Police Station on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, after a shopkeeper recognised him from a photograph that had been shared widely on social media.
Kevin Kinyanjui Njogu, a Grade 10 student at Gathiruini Secondary School, was found safe following a search that had gripped his family and the wider community.
Kevin walks to local shop in morning
The breakthrough came when Kevin walked into a local shop at around 8:30 a.m. and purchased a Predator energy drink and cakes.
The shopkeeper had seen his photograph circulating online as part of the search effort and recognised him immediately.
“This child came to us at around 8:30 in the morning and bought Predator and cakes. After he made the purchase, I saw his photo. I had seen it on social media, so I was able to follow up and identify him,” the shopkeeper said.
Kevin provides his parent’s phone number to shopkeeper
Kevin provided his parent’s phone number, and the shopkeeper called the family, who confirmed the boy was theirs.
After failing to reach the local chief, the shopkeeper took Kevin directly to the police station, where the family later arrived and formally identified him.
Kevin’s parents described the past 10 days as among the most distressing of their lives. Sleep and food had become near impossible as the search wore on.
Kevin’s family apologises for conduct
“For those 10 days, we were not sleeping and we were not eating. We were under a lot of stress,” Kevin’s parent said. “I was in pain because we had lost our child, but now I am happy because we have found him.”
The family also apologised to all parties, including the school and police, for anything they may have said or done in the heat of their desperation.
“Everything we were doing was out of pain and desperation to find our child,” they said.
Lari Sub-County Police Commander Ngaria speaks
They extended gratitude to members of the public, social media users and media stations whose efforts to circulate information about Kevin helped bring him home.
Lari Sub-County Police Commander Ngaria confirmed that investigations would continue to determine how Kevin left the school premises.
An officer from Kibichoi Police Station has been assigned to work alongside a children’s officer on the case.
Kevin’s family raises broader concerns about student safety
Kevin’s family used the occasion to raise broader concerns about student safety.
“This is not the first time Kevin has gone missing. Many children have gone missing from different schools,” a parent said, calling on school administrators to prioritise security.
They urged all stakeholders — parents, teachers and counsellors — to take shared responsibility under the new education system to ensure children remain safe while in school.
