16 years later: Kigonya hopes to find his missing daughter

“I miss my daughter very much. She meant the world to me,” says Abdulatiff Kigonya, the father of Aisha Kyazike who disappeared on March 8, 2001.

That fateful day was Women’s Day. That morning, Kigonya, a swimming coach, left home for work leaving behind his wife and Kyazike, then three years old.

Kyazike had persistently asked to see “Jajja,” her paternal grandmother. The mother honoured the little girl’s wish and together they went to Jajja who lived a stone’s throw away from the couple’s home in Kitintale, Port Bell Road. The visit lasted until early evening hours. After a downpour, the duo returned home at about 6pm. But because Kyazike was muddy, her mother instructed her to wait outside as she rushed inside their house to collect a basin and water to bathe her. She obeyed.

A few minutes later, her daughter had gone missing. She thought that Kyazike had probably wandered off to the neighbour’s. She went back to the house.
Thirty minutes later. The girl did not show face.Her mother frantically went around the neighborhood calling out her daughter’s name. The neighbours joined in the search.

The search
At about 7pm, Kigonya returned home from work to an empty house.

“I called out Aisha’s name and there was no response,” he says.
Kyazike had a habit of running towards her father and hugging him tightly whenever he got home. This time, there was no sign of either the girl or her mother.

It was until moments later when his wife got back from the search and shared the devastating news with him.
“I cannot find Aisha… I cannot find Aisha… I cannot find our little girl,” Kigonya recalls his wife telling him amidst tears.

After composing herself, she was able to bring Kigonya up to speed with what had transpired.

Quickly, Kigonya rushed to Radio Simba and requested the station to make an announcement about the missing girl. They did.
“I received many phone calls that night with some symphathising with me and others pledging to join in the search,” he says.

That night, Kigonya did not sleep. He kept thinking about his little girl. Meanwhile, his wife went out in the cold to continue the search and returned home early morning without the child.

Days turned into weeks, months and eventually into years. During this time, the couple continued searching with the help of colleagues, police, media outlets, family members and friends. These efforts, however, remained in vain.

“Sometimes, I would receive phone calls from some anonymous people who would urge us to increase the cash reward and we did. It was futile,” he says, adding, “Those were trying times for us.”

Effect on their marriage
In 2002, the couple had their second child, Fatuma Nakku but not even her birth could save their marriage.

“The mystery surrounding the disappearance of our girl strained us as a couple. Suddenly, I started blaming my wife for what had transpired,” he says.

The theories and speculations from people worsened matters. For instance, there were people who kept telling Kigonya that his wife was only putting on an act.

“They said all sorts of things. Some of them assumed that Aisha was not my biological daughter and had been probably taken away by her father,” he explains. “It was too much to bear and that was how I made up my mind to eventually leave her.”

They separated in 2006 and Kigonya remarried shortly afterwards. Today, the swimming coach at Green Hill Academy has three children with his second wife. He still looks after Nakku.

Moving on
Kigonya says he still thinks about his daughter. He is certain she is somewhere alive.

“I keep thinking of how life would have been with her around. I keep imagining what she would be looking like,” he says.

As much as the pain of his missing daughter has lingered on, Kigonya says he has learnt to keep his emotions in check.

“My new family is my biggest consolation. I don’t know what I would have done without my second wife and other children. They have been my rock through these years,” he says.

On what he thinks about his ex-wife, Kigonya says, “I still have feelings of resentment towards her. She confessed to not knowing where our daughter is but it is difficult for me to believe her. Anyone else in my shoes would have the same feelings.”

The ex-couple does not communicate. For now, Kigonya hopes and prays that a miracle does happen and Kyazike re-appears.

Facts about Aisha Kyazike
• She disappeared at the age of three years
• At the time, she was studying in baby class at Mwebaza Nursery and Primary School, Kitintale, Port bell road.
• She would now be 19 years old.