A missing 17-year-old Kenyan boy who disappeared last month has been reunited with his family in Nadapal by authorities in South Sudan’s Kapoeta East County.

 Morru Ngorok, a resident of Kenya’s Turkana County, disappeared for nearly a month but was discovered in the area of Nadapal in Kapoeta East County last week.  

Speaking during the reunion in Nadapal on Thursday last week, Kapoeta County’s Executive Director Justine Juma said Ngorok was discovered in a garden on Tuesday last week.

“Our people got a person from Kenya roaming in the forest here, they arrested this person and today [Thursday), we are returning him to his relatives officially. They said he got lost, but he entered our gardens and did not know the direction where he came from. The relatives from Lokichogio and the government of Kenya came to receive him here in Nadapal,” Juma explained.

He added, “Our main priority is to achieve peace between the neighboring Turkana of Kenya and the Toposa community. Some months ago, we found some children and returned them to their relatives. We also arrested two children in a kraal and returned them.”

For his part, Julio Ineke, the paramount chief of Turkana sub-county in Lokichogio, confirmed that the 17-year-old Kenyan boy had been reunited with his parents.

 “I am very happy because this is not my first time to work with people getting back recovered children either from South Sudan or Kenya.  We have done this about three times,” he said.

Ineke said the neighboring communities currently live in peace.