By Billy Gichohi.
Earlier today human rights activists and family members of Brian Odhiambo, who vanished on January 18th 2025 gathered outside the Nakuru Law Courts to express their displeasure on the disappearance of the fisherman arrested for trespass alongside 10 others in Lake Nakuru National Park.
To begin with, I am not sure we should be referring to Odhiambo and the 10 others as fishermen because the reason for their arrest, in the first place was trespass into a protected area.
National Parks are protected areas and any living organism within the precincts of the park is by law not supposed to be exploited for food or commercial purposes. That aside, the disappearance of Odhiambo is marred by a chilling mystery.
What began as a local concern has escalated into a national outcry, with a growing number of unanswered questions fuelling public anxiety and mistrust.
Brian Odhiambo, a resident from the community surrounding Lake Nakuru National Park vanished under circumstances that remain deeply contested. Official statements offer conflicting narratives causing a disparity that has become a focal point of the escalating tension.
The KWS has acknowledged an arrest for illegal fishing, but maintains that the individual in question escaped. This version of events has been met with widespread scepticism, with many questioning the plausibility of an escape from armed officers within a protected park.
However, many illegal fishermen have in the past disappeared from the park and some have been known to dive into the lake once they spot officers on surveillance in the park. This fundamental question remains the most pressing.
The lack of concrete information has plunged Odhiambo’s family into a state of agonising uncertainty. The exact sequence of events following Odhiambo’s alleged apprehension remains shrouded in mystery.
The discrepancies between eyewitness accounts and official statements have created a vacuum of truth, leaving room for speculation and suspicion. The public demands transparency and accountability, but conflicting statements have only deepened the sense of distrust. The pursuit of a public inquest underscores the gravity of the situation.
Human rights organisations are pushing for a thorough and impartial investigation, which they have a right to. Meanwhile, the public has voiced its outrage through demonstrations and social media campaigns, demanding justice and answers.
The previous dismissal of a high court case, due to a lack of evidence, has greatly increased public frustration yet there is no evidence that the dismissal itself was issued in bad faith.
The parade staged to identify officers suspected to have handled Odhiambo did not yield an incriminating outcome.
The disappearance of Brian Odhiambo remains a tragedy and a reminder of the on-going struggle for justice on the one hand and criminal enterprise by park trespassers on other hand. As the legal proceedings unfold, the nation waits for answers, hoping that the truth will finally come to light.
In all, we should give the law space to bring the matter to a plausible conclusion instead of inciting members of the public to engage in anarchy.
Gichohi is an aspiring politician currently working for an organisation that supports small-scale farmers undertaking transformative farming projects in East Africa.
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