First, do not panic; act in order
Discovering that your developer has gone silent is stressful, especially with money and deadlines on the line. But frantic emails and threats rarely bring anyone back, and they waste time you need for recovery. The situation is almost always more recoverable than it feels in the first 24 hours.
The winning move is to shift immediately from chasing the person to protecting your assets. Everything that matters now is about what you can secure and rebuild from, not about the developer's intentions.
Secure every account and credential you can reach
Your first practical task is to lock down access before anything is lost. Change passwords where you can and confirm that critical accounts are in your name and control.
- Domain registrar: make sure the domain is registered to you, not the developer.
- Hosting and servers: get into the control panel or cloud account if you can.
- Code repository: GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket accounts holding the source.
- Email and DNS: these often control password resets for everything else.
- Third-party services: M-Pesa, payment gateways, SMS or WhatsApp, and any API keys.
Gather every asset before it slips away
Collect and back up everything connected to the project into a place you control. That means the source code, any documentation, database exports, design files, and the paper trail of invoices, contracts, and chat history.
The messages matter more than people expect. Specifications, decisions, and credentials are frequently buried in old WhatsApp threads or emails. A complete record helps a new team understand what was intended and speeds up the takeover.
Get an honest assessment of what really exists
It is common to be told a project is "90 percent done" when it is closer to half-built, or built on shaky foundations. Before making any decision, get a technical audit from someone you trust who has no incentive to exaggerate.
A good audit tells you what works, what is missing, how sound the code is, and whether it is safer to continue, refactor, or rebuild. This clear picture turns a scary unknown into a concrete plan with a timeline and a cost.
Decide: continue, refactor, or rebuild
With an audit in hand, you can choose deliberately. If the foundation is solid, continuing from it saves the most money. If the code mostly works but is fragile, targeted refactoring may be the right balance. If it is unsalvageable, an honest rebuild avoids pouring good money after bad.
The worst outcome is guessing. Each path is reasonable in the right situation; the point is to choose based on evidence, not on sunk cost or wishful thinking.
Bring in a local team you can actually hold to account
Taking over someone else's unfinished work is a specific skill: reading unfamiliar code, filling gaps in documentation, and stabilising the system before adding to it. A local partner you can meet and hold accountable changes the whole dynamic after a bad experience.
Because they are in your time zone and market, they can move quickly on the audit, give you a realistic plan, and keep you informed as they rebuild momentum. Proximity and accountability are exactly what was missing the first time.
Protect yourself on the next project
Once you are back on track, lock in the lessons so this never repeats. Own your domain, servers, and code repository from the very first day. Insist on regular working demos and milestone payments rather than large sums up front.
Keep documentation current and make sure more than one person understands the system. These simple disciplines cost nothing and make abandonment far less likely and far easier to survive if it ever happens again.
How Upeosoft helps you recover
Upeosoft regularly helps Kenyan businesses take over stalled and abandoned projects. We start with a clear-eyed audit so you know exactly what you have, then give you an honest recommendation to continue, refactor, or rebuild, with a realistic timeline and cost.
Because we are local, we move fast, you can meet us, and we handle M-Pesa, eTIMS, and other Kenyan integrations as part of the work. If your developer has gone quiet, reach out and we will help you secure what exists and get moving again.
