Tanzanian Woman Reunited with Family After 17 Years in Kenyan Psychiatric Hospital

A Tanzanian woman has been reunited with her family after spending 17 years in a Kenyan psychiatric hospital, where she was admitted in 2008 after being found with no identification or known relatives.

Selina Paul, now 53, was discharged this week from Nakuru Teaching and Referral Hospital, where she had been under psychiatric care since being diagnosed with schizophrenia. She was brought to the facility in March 2008 after being found wandering the streets of Baringo County with her infant son. At the time, she could not provide consistent information about her identity, referring to herself only as “Rosa from Tanzania.”

Without documentation, fixed residence, or contactable relatives, Selina remained in institutional care for years, even after her condition had stabilised. Efforts to trace her background continued over the years but were hampered by conflicting details. In early 2025, Selina began recalling specific information about her home village in Mbulu, Tanzania, including names of relatives and a church she once attended. 

This information led hospital staff to contact the Bishop of Mbulu Diocese, who confirmed her identity using church records. Selina’s family, who had long believed she was dead, were located in Dar es Salaam. Her elder brother, Phillipo Paulo Ombae, travelled to Kenya for the reunion, calling it “a miracle we never expected.” He said the family had searched extensively since Selina’s disappearance in 2005, checking hospitals and mortuaries throughout Tanzania.

The reunion was described as deeply emotional. Ombae thanked the hospital staff for their continued care and support, not only for Selina but also for her son, who was placed in a children’s home. Now in secondary school, he is expected to reunite with the family in Tanzania once his final exams are complete.

Hospital social workers said Selina’s case was among the most complex they had encountered, involving long-term psychiatric care, identity verification, and cross-border coordination. Caroline Ojuang, a medical social worker at the hospital, said Selina’s memories only became clear enough to act on earlier this year. Clues such as her Tanzanian accent and cultural references were eventually key to confirming her origin.

Selina is now preparing to return home, where her eight children and extended family await her.