A missing M-Pesa agent, Sh 250,000 and a troubled husband in Mawanga

On the afternoon of Wednesday, May 21, 2025, 23-year-old Hannah Waithera disappeared without a trace.

Working at an M-Pesa shop along Nakuru’s Kenyatta Avenue, Waithera left her workplace at around 1 pm to deposit cash from the Mpesa to the bank.

That would be the last time anyone saw or heard from her.

Back in Mawanga, the atmosphere at the home of Zacharia Karanja, Waithera’s husband, is thick with grief and unanswered questions. 

When Mtaa Wangu visited the home, a heavy silence filled the room before Karanja could gather himself to recount the last moments with his wife.

Karanja, a cab driver, says he left home on Tuesday night just before midnight, leaving behind Hannah, their three-year-old daughter, and his sister-in-law.

The next day, he spoke to his wife several times over the phone. At around 1 pm, she called to ask for Sh 1,500 to get her hair done. That call was the last communication he had with her.

Later that day, Karanja received a troubling call from his mother-in-law, who was growing concerned after her calls to Waithera went unanswered.

Alarmed, Karanja tried reaching his wife as he drove a client to Subukia. Every call went unanswered.

“I rushed back to town and arrived at her workplace around 4 pm,” Karanja recalls. “Her colleagues told me she had left to deposit money, but they weren’t sure if she went to the bank first or to the salon.”

Desperate and panicking, Karanja began contacting friends and searching for clues.

He eventually went to the police to file a missing person’s report. However, he was told he had to wait at least 24 hours before it could be officially recorded.

Unknown to Karanja, Waithera's employer had also filed a report about the missing Sh 250,000 that Waithera was believed to have been carrying when she vanished.

When Thursday came, Karanja was able to officially report his wife as missing.

“The DCI officers seem more interested in the money than in finding my wife,” Karanja says.

He says the family has been harassed and assaulted by officers who now accuse them of colluding with Waithera to steal the money.

According to him, police officers stormed his home and physically assaulted him and other relatives while his daughter watched in terror. Afterwards they took Sh 49,350 from him, noting it was part of the recovery process.

Asked where the money came from, Karanja says ,the money came from his car hire business separate from his cab driving.

On that day alone, 11 vehicles had been hired out, and the cash with him was payment from clients. In addition to confiscating the money, police also took some shopping he had just bought, leaving the family shaken and confused.

Now four days since Waithera's disappearance, the family remains in anguish.

With little progress on her whereabouts, they are left wondering if the search for their missing loved one has been overshadowed by a pursuit of money.

“Who do we turn to now?” Karanja asks, his voice heavy. “We went to the police to help find my wife. But instead, we’ve been treated like criminals.”

As the investigation drags on, the family hopes for Waithera's safe return.

Mtaa Wangu could not get a response from the DCI at the point of publishing this story.