Daughter in danger - she is in Nairobi

I do know that the Kenya Police have the tech to locate a person via their mobile - they used this to track down a worker of ours, who had stolen from us.  It was very effective.

I am not sure how you might convince the Police to use this technology to find your daughter though.  Bribery might work (not that I condone this, but it is the reality).

Unfortunately, I do not know her/his mobile phone number. But I like the idea. I didn't know technology was so advanced.

Do you know whether there are just a few areas whereby natives of India hang out? If so, it might be best to target that area with a modest reward offering.

What do you think?

- Jay

Westlands and Parklands are the areas which spring to mind as having a lot of asian residents - they are both upmarket though.

Can you tell me a bit more ab Westlands and Parklands? He is a Muslim from India.  If you had to guess would you say these would be places?

They are both affluent suburbs, just to the north of the City Centre and are known to be areas with sizeable Indian communities.  However, there are also quite a lot of white people, particularly in Westlands.

Its really hard to say whether this is where they might be living, but there may be a greater chance of them being in such an area, than being elsewhere.

Yes most of the asians mainly indians stay in westlands and parklands. i am also a indian, but as for muslim ,its easy if you to find him, coz you know, muslims attend prayers every friday in mosque, you can collect some people, give his picture to all of them and ask them to search in all mosques. Muslim will never skip his friday prayes. Hope allah listen to your heart and help you. Hope for the best.

This is the best idea I have heard. Do you know how many Mosque there are in these two cities? This could be the most valuable information for us. Also, if there is only 3 or 4, can you help me to hire people and I will send you money for this? bc he is only 131 cm in height so he should be easy to find.

I will ask some muslim people about the mosques, regarding hiring people, its not a better option to send money to strangers, i am also a stranger for you, you just send the picture of him to all the people whom you know in nairobi, by chance if anyone find him in mosqe, shopping mall or vegetable market, you would be lucky. Send photo of him and your daughter to everyone.

Hello,

I am sorry to hear about your daughter but if i were you, i would have gone to the media and especially Tv. They can transmit this kind of information to millions of kenyans countrywide as compared to the internet that is accessed by a tiny fraction of Kenyans. Indian communities are not only found in parklands and westlands but all over the city.  They are found in nairobiwest, south c, south b, Karen etc.  Given the type of character this guy is, i suspect he is one who will not attend a mosque and again you have to know whether he is a sunni muslim or a shia muslim....this will give you an idea of which mosque he is likely to visit.  Kenyans in general are very accommodating and form friendly relationships without quite knowing someone, leave-alone where they come from.....so a picture of this guy would be more helpful that height estimates.  Try and work with organisations that deal with the girl-child/runaways. Fly to Kenya and help the police with investigations, if all fails, offer a reward.

PS; tone down the words 'indian' 'white' and don't insist on mentioning you have indian friends, it will only come out as a race thing and Kenyans will loose interest.

Good input by Jockie.I think the best wasy is u have to be in nairobi if u r sure he is in Nairobi and posted these on public forums might weakeen ur case .wht if he is is member of this group and u r posting all the information.U to come to Nairobi and contact ur embassy and indian embassy and i think that can work only.Other wise sitting thousand of miles away and posting on public forum might danger life of ur daughter as u mentioned being him dangerous.


Best luck and prayers for safe return of ur daughter

Sorry, i don't agree that the terms 'indian' and 'white' would be seen as racist, in Kenya, Joekie, any more than using the term 'Kenyan'.

Scared4daughter:  I was going to suggest that flying to Nairobi yourself would be an option, failing other avenues of enquiry.  It might help with engaging the Police to assist you.  Dealing face to face is usually easier.  But, sadly, you would probably have to bribe in order to get a detective to take your case seriously. The Police may be interested, as Kenya (in common with many countries) doesnt like to grant entry to anyone with a criminal record.

However, if you come to Nairobi, you would have to be careful to keep out of the poorer areas and to distance yourself from any investigation work.

Nairobi is a big city, in which it is easy to 'disappear' if you want to.  You have the advantage that a relationship between an Indian and white person isn't common, which would make your daughter easier to find.

Longonot62, please do not misquote me.  I advised him to "tone down".

I am a single parent w other children and on a financial budget. Of course, I would find and way and come to Kenya if we knew where my daughter is located. But what do I do when I arrive? The police are requesting proof of a crime in Kenya which I can't produce.

I have been on contact with the US Embassy, the Kenya Embassy in the US, Romanian Embassy, Interpol, Immigration and, through someone else, the police. Without evidence or probably cause a crime has been committed, they won't act.

The best idea would be to have some go to the major Mosque near central Kenya. Because of his height, he would be easy to spot. Then, he if could be followed when he returns to work, the rest becomes easy. With a few pictures of him working illegally, immigration will arrest him. Also, following him home, would lead to finding my daughter.

I've heard there are many Mosque. But can there be many in Central Nairobi? I twice Western Union money to Kenya (I know it was wrong but I am desperate) with no results.

If you can recommend someone who would be available and trustworthy, I believe that if he traveled around the main areas previously mentioned, that he could be found. Please advise...

Thank you so much.

Joeki, you did indeed say that, but went on to say; 'it will only come out as a race thing'.  'Race thing' and racist are interchangeable terms are they not?  It was that part I was questioning and commenting on.

I just don't think that the terms 'Indian' and 'white' would particularly cause offence.  I would be interested to know what terms you would use?

From your posts, there are at least two crimes that are mentioned.

- Entering Kenya, when he has a criminal record.

- Working without proper papers

Its going to be extremely difficult to sort anything out from a distance.  The sad fact about the Police is that they are quite often reluctant to investigate without a bribe  - even when there is evidence of a crime being committed.  i also think that they may question the level of urgency, because you are not in Kenya.

If you are in Kenya, face to face, it sends a message that you are serious about finding your daughter and you are likely to get more positive action.  You say that the Police were approached by a 3rd party.  How do you know that the 'someone else' actually went to the Police and who in the Police, did they see?  I still think that you should go to Kenya, if at all possible.  Kenyan's who have not travelled (which would include many Police Officers) tend to assume that people, from Europe and the US are rich and wuld therefore not understand why it might be difficult for you to go to Kenya.

Don't send any more cash, unless you have someone in Kenya who you can absolutely 110% trust (and that person will have to have good connections).

Regarding the mosque:  As Joeki said, there is no guarantee that this guy attends a mosque at all and if he does, it may well not be a central one.  Joeki has suggested approaching the media and I think it is a good suggestion for a starting point. 

All the best.

I do not think it is a crime to enter Kenya with a criminal record but it certainly a crime to work without papers (a work visa). We know he doesn't have a work visa since individuals with serious criminal records are prohibited from obtaining a work visa in Kenya.

His IP address shows that he is in central Nairobi. I believe he does go to Mosgue. Anyway, he is really easy to spot. I think if I could find someone who could navigate around the Indian communities they would be able to ask around until they found him. This is what investigators do. Unfortunately, I do not have the resources to pay an investigator. However, if you knew someone who was available to his the pavements for a week I could maybe compensate him modestly. I get that I am gasping for air, but this is what father's do when they love their children.

Hello Mr Scared4daughter, lease come to kenya and save your child before it gets to late. what if they come to know about your efforts and leave kenya and go another country. what will you do? you cannot run all over the world. its a best chance for you to catch him and save your daughter. If you need our help here we are ready to do so. Please take some proper measures... hurry up soon its no time to discuss things here and waste time....

i understand that a visa will not be issued to enter Kenya if you disclose that you have a criminal record, therefore I would imagine that it would be an offence to breach the conditions of a visa (perhaps someone else on the forum has a definitive answer on this). 

I wish that I could assist.  However, I no longer live in Nairobi and right now, I am in the UK.

I realise that your situation is incredibly difficult on a number of levels.  My advice above is based on my own experiences of dealing with the authorities and information from my extensive Kenyan family (on my Wife's side). 

If you hire someone, unless you are fortunate, if you are not on site at least some of the time,  the persons who you employ will probably start running up all sorts of spurious 'costs', or not do the job thoroughly and just tall you that they have tried - for all you know they have just sat at home. 

If this was my daughter, I would have found a way to be on location, in Nairobi by now - and please don't take that as a criticism, as I don't mean it to be. 

I wish you all the very very best and pray for a good outcome.

I would suggest the following things,her picture,and even peradventure you have been in communication with her in recent days or months.Has she ever suggested her whereabouts in Nairobi?i dont think its a difficult thing tracking someone in Nairobi?what we just need to know is when did she enter the country?.Am sure you will be able to find your daughter that way