Kitale family in anguish as daughter studying in UK goes missing

Family says Edna Mmbali Ombakho was last in contact on January 31.

A family in Kitale is enduring anxious days after their daughter who was pursuing her studies in the United Kingdom went missing under unclear circumstances, prompting an active police search and appeals from both relatives and human rights groups.

Edna Mmbali Ombakho, a Master’s student at York St John University in London, was last seen on Sunday, February 1, 2026, in Wraysbury, Berkshire.

Her sudden disappearance has left her family distressed, with relatives saying they have not heard from her since.

According to the family, Edna had been in regular contact before she went missing.

Her father, George Ombakho, said she last spoke with her mother, who is also abroad, a day before she disappeared.

“She contacted the mother who is in the US on Saturday before the disappearance,” he told the Star by phone from Kitale.

He said the family became alarmed after attempts to reach her failed, triggering a report to the police in the UK.

Edna’s sister, who also lives there, has since been closely following up with investigators, George said.

“The other daughter who is in the UK is in contact with the police, but the officers are yet to give them something substantive regarding the disappearance of his daughter,” he said, describing the uncertainty as agonising for the family.

At the time she was last seen, Edna was reportedly wearing a khaki long coat with a fur-lined hood, knee-high boots and glasses.

She is about 5ft 5in tall and described by relatives as soft-spoken.

The Kenyan High Commission in the UK has been informed and is handling the matter at the diplomatic level as efforts to trace her continue.

Meanwhile, her family says they are holding on to hope and faith. “We are just in prayers,” George said.

Edna, 30, is the last born in a family of three siblings.

Back home, rights group Haki Africa, the media and social media influencers have amplified the family’s plea, calling on Kenyans in the UK and the wider public to share any information that could help locate her.

Authorities in the UK have asked anyone with information regarding her whereabouts to contact UK police by dialling 999 and quoting Investigation Number: 43260053275.