Residents in Lurambi, Kakamega County, in western Kenya are reeling in shock after a man who went missing for 17 years returned home.

Locals in Emukoyani, Butsotso Ward broke into song and dance as 42-year-old Boniface Moi Muyeshi showed up unannounced.

"He left home for Nairobi back in 2006. He left his family behind never to be seen again," a resident told Citizen Digital, a Kenyan outlet.

A prayer session preceded a cleansing ceremony and the prodigal son was then reunited with his kin.

His joy was however short-lived after he was informed that his wife has had a child with another man – a Rwandan.

"We suspected that he had died during the 2007 - 2008 post-election skirmishes," his relative Fredrick Witumbele said.

The family welcomed their son in traditional fashion, slaughtering a ram in the process.

Muyeshi's wife Agripina Mulupi however said she has had it rough raising their three children.

"I settled down with someone else as I was not able to raise these children on my own," Agripina added.

She went on to say that 5 years after her husband disappeared, she realized she wouldn’t be able to live alone, however, her mother-in-law refused her to engage with any man and it was until the mother in law died that she got a lover.

Kenyan media reports say that the Rwandan lover took good care of Agripina including educating her children.

The woman says, since she knows her husband can’t educate the child she got with her lover, she advised that he educates the child which he has agreed.

She however said following her husband's return, she would love to turn over a new leaf.

"I had to send my current lover away as the man of the house had made a return. We will make plans on how to co-parent," she added. The Rwandan lover agreed to move out.