Man Returns Home 49 Years After Selling Property, Abandoning Wives and 10 Kids

An 83-year-old Kirinyaga man who disappeared from his home 49 years ago has reunited with his family.

Wilson Numbi Miatu left his home in Kiamaciri village in Mwea West in 1973 after selling off all his property in Kiamaciri and Kagio town.

Miatu, who had inherited the property from his late father, left behind two wives Mary Numbi and Milka Numbi, and 10 children.

For nearly 50 years, the family did not know the whereabouts of Matu, who was 34 years old at the time he left. Attempts to trace him were unsuccessful.

The octogenarian was found alive in Mpeketoni, Lamu County after health workers in a local hospital circulated his photo on social media. 

Miatu’s son Paul Murimi, who was only three years old when his dad went missing, says he was taken to the hospital by a good Samaritan.  

"I think my father thought he would die after spending money when he sold grandfather's property. We feared that he might not be alive and gave up on searching for him as a family. He is a prodigal father, but we are happy to have found him and have forgiven him," Murimi told Citizen Digital. 

Miatu, who is still ailing, is currently living with his wife Mary and their first-born daughter.