Judy Gatwiri left Kenya to work in Beirut, Lebanon, last year. She was excited about the opportunity that she felt would give her family a bright future.
However, this was not to be as Ms Gatwiri, who was employed as a domestic worker, has been in police custody for the last four months.
Her family which hails from Limauru in Tigania West, Meru County, now agonizes over how to bring their daughter back from the Middle East. Ms Gatwiri’s relatives are now seeking government intervention to bring back the 33-year-old mother of three.
Ms Josphine Mwendwa, Gatwiri’s sister, alleges that she had worked for about two months before her employer’s relatives started mistreating her.
Ms Mwendwa says she was in constant communication with her sister until she went silent in early March.
“We later learnt that she was in police custody after she presented herself there to seek justice for mistreatment. All was well before relatives of the employer came to the home.”
“During the day, they would assault her and confiscate her phone. Despite informing her employer, nothing changed. One day, she decided to run to the police where she is being held to date,” Ms Mwendwa said.
She says her sister’s employer refused to take her back and instead had her charged with what she alleges are trumped up charges of theft and escaping from work.
“She was also accused of stealing $500 and was charged in court. However, she has not been found guilty of any offence. She remains in police cells at Chiayah Police station where her movements and access to healthcare are limited,” she says.
Ms Mwendwa says the recruiting agent, Kiwamwa Labour Consult Ltd, had advised the family to pay for her air ticket.
According to Ms Mwendwa, her sister has been communicating to her by writing messages on pieces of paper and sending it through a police officer at the station.
“The information we have from the agency which hired her is that she was not found guilty. We cannot afford to raise over Sh100,000 needed for her air ticket and other travel expenses. I am struggling to take care of my other sister’s children in Nairobi,” she says.
Ms Esther Murama, Gatwiri’s mother, is now calling on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to intervene and bring back her daughter.
“She was our only hope and we were very happy when she secured the job. She went there to fend for her children and me. If the government does not intervene, I don’t know what will happen to my her,” Ms Murama laments.
Ms Mwendwa said she was at the Lebanon Consulate in Nairobi last week in an effort to push for the release of her sister.
Recently, Diaspora Affairs PS Roseline Njogu said the government had enhanced its resources to protect the rights and welfare of Kenyans abroad.
