Faith Jerop felt both excited and anxious when she agreed to travel to Moscow with her Russian partner.
On the one hand, the 23-year-old was eager to meet her boyfriend’s family and begin a new chapter with him, but, on the other hand, she had a feeling that something wasn’t quite right.
Her partner, a 41-year-old Russian national whom she had met two years earlier at a supermarket in Diani, told her that his ailing father wanted to meet their one-year-old daughter.
He also claimed that his father wished to leave the child an inheritance and that this needed to happen before his death.
“He told me that his father was on his deathbed and wanted to give our daughter his inheritance. This made the trip feel urgent, and he insisted that if we delayed, the old man might die before meeting her,” said Jerop.
Despite her misgivings and her mother’s reservations, she agreed to travel.
In an interview with the Nation, Jerop said that she barely understood Russian, had never travelled outside Kenya, and had no connections in Moscow.
However, she placed her trust in the father of her child, believing that the trip would be good for their daughter, Maya Andevna Sinitsa.
Faith and her partner started dating in 2023 when she was working at a shop near the beach. Things moved quickly between them and, within three months, she was pregnant.
'My partner wanted me to terminate the pregnancy, but my mother strongly opposed that idea. 'This is your child and your responsibility, no matter what the man does,' she told me. Those words gave me strength,' she said.
Though initially dismissive, the Russian later changed his mind.
He suggested they travel together to Argentina, where he said they could stay until the baby was born.
According to Jerop, he promised to take care of her and the baby. However, due to delays in processing her passport, he left alone. Months later, after the baby was born, he returned to Kenya and stayed for six months.
“He stayed at our home in Diani. His focus was entirely on the baby, and he even started the process of getting her a birth certificate and applying for passports for us both,” she said.
Faith Jerop at her home in Diani, Kwale County on June 15, 2025.
Photo credit: Siago Cece | Nation Media Group
To her family, his long stay and secrecy about his work were suspicious. He never explained what he did for a living. He insisted that he had an online job.
When Maya turned one, Jerop's partner proposed a trip to Moscow to visit his family. Despite her mother’s unease, Jerop felt obliged to go.
“My mother was hesitant. She warned me not to go, but the tickets had already been booked. We agreed that I would only go for two months and then come back,” she said.
They left Kenya on April 11, 2025, but upon arriving in Moscow, nothing went as promised. Instead of going to meet his family, they went straight to a small apartment.
'I thought we were going to his parents' house, but we went to an apartment instead. He told me to sleep in the living room while he took the bedroom. That’s when I began to feel that something was very wrong,” said Jerop.
She says that the man started taking her out at night to do things she didn't enjoy, such as zip-lining and sightseeing from high-rise buildings.
Jerop never got to meet his family. She said that soon, things took a dark turn.
“One weekend, he locked me in the apartment and left with the baby, saying he was going to visit his mother. When he came back, he suddenly grew cold, agitated and violent,” she recalled.
“When I tried to ask him what was wrong, he pushed me and told me to shut up. I screamed, and he tried to throw me out of the apartment,” she said.
The next day, he returned with a lawyer who claimed Jerop was mentally unstable and a threat to the child’s safety.
“I couldn't speak Russian. I felt helpless and trapped. I didn’t have access to my baby. I was afraid to tell my mother that her worst fears were coming true,” she said.
Faith Jerop and her daughter Marya Andre na Sinitsa at a mall in Russia.
Photo credit: Pool
WhatsApp was her only lifeline, and she eventually used it to contact her mother, who then contacted Kenyan nationals in Russia. With the help of one woman, Jerop installed a VPN on her phone so that she could access her TikTok account. She then began going live every day at 7 pm to plead for help from her followers.
Through social media, Kenyans and sympathisers abroad began to offer assistance. Eventually, her pleas for help reached the Kenyan Embassy in Moscow, which arranged for her to be placed in a safe house.
However, her partner continued to try to block her.
“When the embassy contacted him, he informed them that I had tuberculosis. That’s when the officials decided that I needed to be evacuated,” she said.
Three days later, she was flown back to Kenya. Her daughter, however, remained behind with her father. She returned home, feeling heartbroken yet determined to fight.
‘Every day, I feel like something is missing inside me. If Maya were dead, I would mourn her. But she is alive and I have no idea how she is,” she said.
Jerop is now raising funds online to file for custody of her daughter in Russia. She estimates that the legal process could cost up to Sh2 million.
“I’ve healed; I’m strong. I’m ready to fight for my daughter. She is the only thing that matters to me now,' she said.
Her mother, Jenifer Ekitela, who runs a small shop in the Mvindeni area of Diani, says she regrets letting her daughter go but supports her decision.
“I warned her because I knew something wasn’t right. Now, all I want is to see my granddaughter again,” she said.
The family is calling on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and international human rights organisations to intervene.
