Ten days after the puzzling disappearance of former Tinderet parliamentary aspirant Shadrack Maritim, the case has taken a bizarre twist — with his mobile phone showing recent financial activity and critical CCTV footage inexplicably missing.
Maritim, last seen on the morning of October 27 leaving his residence for what appeared to be a routine jog, has not been sighted since. Investigators and relatives are now grappling with unsettling inconsistencies surrounding his disappearance.
Despite being declared missing, Maritim’s mobile phone remains active, and evidence shows it has been used to conduct several M-Pesa transactions and online activities long after he vanished.
On October 28 at 7:24 p.m., the device transferred Ksh.10,000 to a man identified as Felix Kimutai Magut. A few hours later, at 4:49 a.m., another Ksh.3,500 was sent to the same recipient. The following day, the phone purchased mobile data and later transferred Ksh.15,000 to Magut again at 5:00 p.m.
Meanwhile, questions are swirling over missing CCTV footage that initially captured Maritim stepping out of his gate before his morning run. Authorities failed to secure the recording until nearly four days after the disappearance — by which time, the footage had mysteriously vanished.
The delay has drawn sharp criticism from Maritim’s close associates, who accuse investigators of negligence and sluggish action.
His partner, Mercy Chebichii, who was reportedly with him the night before he disappeared, voiced her frustration in a heartfelt appeal.
“For me today, niseme nimedissapear, of course si watatafuta yule rafiki yangu wa karibu wamuulize nilipitia wapi? But today ndio wamechukua hizo simu for investigation, which is too late. This is the seventh day for a missing person; it’s too late for them to collect,” she lamented.
Chief investigator Daniel Muleli, the Uasin Gishu County Criminal Investigations Officer (CCIO), confirmed that no substantial leads have been uncovered.
“We are doing a physical search. We have also submitted his phones to the cybercrime unit for exploitation. Perhaps there could be any information that could lead us to what happened,” Muleli said.
Adding to the intrigue, this is not the first time Maritim has gone missing. In 2022, he was abducted under unclear circumstances and later found alive in Bungoma County, raising fears that history may be repeating itself.
As the search enters its second week, family members, friends, and political allies are pleading for transparency and urgency from law enforcement agencies.
The disappearance of the 2022 aspirant — once a rising figure in Nandi County politics — has not only shaken the local community but also reignited debate over Kenya’s unresolved cases of missing persons.
With his phone still active, footage erased, and no arrests made, the fate of Shadrack Maritim remains one of Kenya’s most confounding political mysteries yet.
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