A Nairobi family is appealing to Kenyans living in California to help them find their son, who vanished without a trace more than 20 years ago and has not been heard from since.
Paul Muiruri Ngigi, also known as Paul M. Ngigi Kiggo, left Kenya in 2001 after completing his undergraduate degree at the United States International University in Nairobi.
2 Decades of Unanswered Questions
He travelled to California to continue his studies at the postgraduate level and initially kept in touch with his relatives back home. By 2003, however, all communication had ceased.
According to Mwakilishi, his last confirmed address was an apartment on Klump Avenue in North Hollywood, Los Angeles.
In the years that followed, the family has pieced together a fragmented picture from second-hand accounts, media reports and public records.
One unverified account suggested Ngigi may have been involved in an accident and later imprisoned, though no official confirmation ever reached the family.
Ageing Parents Hold On to Hope
In 2010, the San Francisco Chronicle reported on a man named Paul Ngigi living in a shelter in the city’s Tenderloin district.
The family investigated but could not confirm whether the man was their son.
San Francisco Superior Court records also listed the name Paul Muiruri Ngigi in connection with two criminal cases that were still active as recently as late 2022.
Again, the family has been unable to establish whether those records relate to their missing son, and the long silence has taken a particular toll on Ngigi’s parents, who live in Buruburu.
Family Ready to Fund His Return His mother is currently hospitalised but reportedly remains hopeful that word about her son will surface.
His father, too, continues to hold on to the possibility of seeing him again. The family says it has the financial means to support Ngigi’s journey back to Kenya should he be located and wish to return.
Their appeal is directed primarily at members of the Kenyan community in Los Angeles and San Francisco, where Ngigi was last known to have spent time.
Anyone with credible information about Paul Muiruri Ngigi’s whereabouts is urged to come forward and contact the family.
