After more than a decade of painful uncertainty, a Kenyan family has finally received the news they had been desperately waiting for: John Kibet Lagat is alive, safe and well.
Kibet broke his silence after a public appeal by his family seeking information about his whereabouts was published, bringing an extraordinary end to years of unanswered questions and anxiety.
In a message sent in response to the appeal, Kibet confirmed that he was alive and revealed that he was no longer in Australia, where his family had last known him to be living.
He disclosed that he had since relocated to New Zealand, giving his sisters and other relatives the reassurance they had spent years hoping for.
For his family, the brief confirmation carried enormous emotional weight. For more than a decade, they had been left wondering where he was, what had happened to him and whether he was safe.
Kibet’s sisters, Nancy Barngetuny and Mary, had recently gone public with their search after losing contact with their brother in 2013.
At the time, Kibet was reportedly living in Sydney, Australia, having travelled there around three years earlier to pursue a Diploma in Communication.
According to his sisters, communication with him eventually stopped, leaving the family without a clear understanding of his circumstances or whereabouts.
What followed was more than a decade of uncertainty.
Despite efforts by relatives to trace him, the family reportedly struggled to establish where Kibet was living or whether he was safe. As the years passed, the unanswered questions became increasingly painful.
His sisters eventually decided to make a public appeal, hoping that someone who knew him, had interacted with him in Australia or had information about his whereabouts could help reconnect the family with their missing brother.
They called on Kenyans living in Australia, Kibet’s former friends and classmates and even the Kenyan government to assist in the search.
The appeal highlighted the emotional toll the long separation had taken on the family, particularly those who had spent years hoping that one day they would receive news from him.
That moment finally came — not through a dramatic reunion, but through Kibet’s own decision to step forward.
After seeing the appeal and its subsequent publication, he reached out to confirm that he was alive and safe.
His revelation that he had moved from Australia to New Zealand also provided a crucial piece of information that his family had lacked for years.
For Nancy and Mary, the news effectively brought an end to a 13-year chapter of fear and uncertainty.
While many questions about what happened during the years when communication was lost may remain, the most important answer has now been provided: Kibet is alive.
The development is also a powerful reminder of how quickly a person’s trail can disappear when communication breaks down, particularly when they are living thousands of kilometres away from their family.
For relatives left behind, years can pass with every unanswered call or missing message creating fresh anxiety.
In Kibet’s case, his family endured that uncertainty from 2013 until his recent confirmation.
The sisters who had appealed for help can now breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that their brother is safe and has built a life in another country.
What began as a desperate search for a missing family member has therefore ended with a message of hope.
After 13 years of silence, John Kibet Lagat finally spoke — and with just one revelation, he gave his family the reassurance they had been waiting for all those years: he is alive, he is safe, and he is now living in New Zealand.
