Man returns home 45 years after being declared dead

A man who fled home 45 years ago and had being declared dead, returned on Monday, shocking his family members. He then went on to explain his reason for leaving home.
Samuel Wambugu was 29 when he fled his home in Nyeri, Gitundu, Kenya, in 1974. His father had just taken a second wife when he fled without a word and no one knew his whereabouts. When he wasn’t seen after so many years, relatives concluded that he But on Monday, the 73-year-old showed up at his village in Gitundu village sending villagers and relatives scampering as if they had seen a ghost. Ms Bilha Wahinga, his 50-year old cousin who first opened the door for him when he returned, could not recognise him.

Ms Bilha said:

I did not want anything to do with him until my mother came and recognised him. My mother knew him and confirmed that it is really him.

The recognition process even involved the village chief.

Gitundu Assistant Chief John Waiganjo Wednesday confirmed to the Daily Nation that, upon research, they were convinced that the man who returned is the long lost son.

The administrator said:

We checked his identification card, interrogated him and his relatives. Even some of his peers from childhood have confirmed he is truly the one and are very happy to welcome him home.

Wambugu was a young energetic man when he left home in 1974 but returned old, frail and ailing. His parents are long dead and so are most of his peers. His elder brother also died but his sister is still alive. His father died five years after he disappeared from home while his mother died in 1989.