The Silent Witness
How DNA Reunited The Deceased To Their Relatives
By Dr . Johansen Oduor
# Case Number 1
Mary was a 40yrs old female . She was a business lady with a thriving business dealing with furniture in Nairobi . She was married with two children and was also living in her own house in Nairobi . In the year 2021 , she joined a religious sect and suddenly her relatives noted a drastic change in her . During the same period , her husband fell ill . She refused to take her husband to hospital and resorted to praying for his recovery . Her relatives tried to convince her to take him to hospital but all this fell on deaf ears . By the time she agreed to have her husband taken to hospital , it was too late and he passed on soon thereafter .
Her dedication to religion deepened and she sold her business , her motor vehicle and disappeared together with her two children ( of note is that her first born was a 20-year-old female while her second born who was also a person with disability , was about 9 years old and female too ).
Prior to disappearing , she had stopped her children from going to school .
Early in the year 2022 , she could call her relatives , demanding that they send her some money for she was starving with her children . She however refused to reveal where they were . Her relatives could send her between Ksh 200 and 1000 whenever she called , asking for help . Their attempt to have her reveal where she and her children were , or to convince her to go back home were futile . In November of 2023 , she called for the last time and told her relatives that she was going to switch off her phone . Upon further enquiry , she told her relatives that she was taking her sick child to India hence she will not be able to use her phone .
Her relatives were not convinced . They started the process of looking for her . Their first stop was her last known residence in Nairobi , where her house still stood , though abandoned . Upon interviewing her former neighbours , they told her
Death of a loved one is a terrible experience which no one can wish to experience . Disappearance of a loved one is even worse because there is never closure . It is important to note how science has enabled tracing of relatives , especially the deceased ones by DNA , something that was not possible in the past .
relatives that Mary had joined a religious sect which had opened a branch in their estate but its headquarter was in the Coast region . By this time , there were reports of a religious sect in Kilifi where members had died following starvation after being convinced to do so by the leaders of the sect . Her relatives decided to head there . In their possession was a photo of Mary .
Upon reaching the place where the members of the sect had been reported to be living , and upon showing the photos of Mary to the people they met in the area , they recognised the photo of Mary , even though they knew her by a different name . They further told her relatives that they were aware that she had two children , with the younger one suffering from a mental disorder . This gave her relatives hopes of reuniting with Mary , and her children . As they continued their search , it later emerged that her children were among the ones who had died . The whereabouts of Mary was however unknown .
The relatives continued their search , with the aim of finding Mary and her children , whether dead or alive , and when it was announced that there was need for relatives of missing persons to avail their samples for DNA to be used as reference samples to march the ones of exhumed person , they showed up at the government Chemist office and their samples were collected .
Upon analysis , Mary and her 20-yearold daughter were identified . They were released to her relatives for burial in Western Kenya . Her 9-year-old daughter is still missing . Her relatives have not yet lost hope and are certain that they shall be reunited soon as the process is still ongoing .
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