Shock as Nandi man returns home after 50 years of missing

Celebrations and tears of joy erupted in Kapsimatwo village, Tinderet Constituency, Nandi County, as a 90-year-old man returned home after missing for half a century.

Peter Kiplel arap Ruto, who vanished in 1974 as a young man, shocked the community when he walked back home with nothing but a cane. His disappearance was triggered by anger after a colonial settler seized his sheep, which had wandered into his maize field.

For years, Kiplel’s family searched for him in vain, with the last sighting reported around the borders of Kericho and Uasin Gishu. After years of fruitless searching, the family gave up hope of ever finding him.

But in a twist of fate, Grace Biwott, a kind-hearted woman, shared how she had taken in Kiplel and employed him as a farmhand for over 30 years in Chagayat village, Kesses Constituency, Uasin Gishu County.

Shockingly, Chagayat village in Uasin Gishu County is not far from his home village since the two counties border each other.

Curious villagers poured into Kiplel’s homestead to catch a glimpse of the long-lost man. While most were eager to welcome him home, others called for a thorough verification to ensure that this was indeed the man who had disappeared five decades ago.