Margaret Ngele, a domestic worker in Saudi Arabia who has been unreachable since sending s distress message to her family in Kenya.
At exactly 12.10pm last Thursday, Mr Victor Omondi received a desperate, and now haunting, message from his wife, Ms Margaret Ngele.
“I’m at the police station right now, but they haven’t helped me or even spoken to me,” she wrote.
Since that moment, her phone has remained off.
No calls, no texts, no trace. Her silence has plunged her husband in Homa Bay County and mother in Taveta, Taita Taveta County, into a spiral of fear and helplessness.
Ms Ngele, aged 27, left Kenya in November 2022 to take up a position as a domestic worker in Saudi Arabia. Despite her husband's reservations, her two-year contract promised better pay and the opportunity to support her family.
Mr Omondi said she insisted the move was necessary, as she wanted to escape the cycle of unemployment and financial hardship that had affected her family.
“I didn’t want her to go, but she was determined and she told me she wanted to help her family. I had explained to her that we can keep trying here in Kenya and one day we would succeed, but she insisted she wanted to go,” he said.
According to Mr Omondi, Ms Ngele had not received her salary for four months. Her working conditions had deteriorated. Eventually, she fled her employer’s residence on September 7.
Her employer had allegedly withheld her travel documents, making it impossible for her to leave the country legally.
“When she insisted on returning home, the employer refused to book her a flight or release her papers. Her only option was to seek help from the authorities,” he said.
A Good Samaritan took her in and later escorted her to a police station and that is where she sent her final messages.
“She said the police were taking her fingerprints but hadn’t interrogated her. That was the last time I heard from her,” Mr Otieno explained.
Ms Ngele's contract had officially ended in November last year but her employer, who had reportedly suffered an accident, pleaded with her to stay longer, which she agreed without following the proper procedure. According to her original contract, any extension had to be in writing and attested by the labour office, a requirement both she and her employer ignored.
When things turned sour, Ms Ngele reached out to her recruitment agent in Saudi Arabia but the agency declined to help, citing her unauthorised contract extension.
“They asked why she had extended the contract without involving them,” the husband narrated.
Mr Omondi says he has tried calling the Kenyan embassy in Riyadh but his calls have gone unanswered. “I also called a Saudi Arabia emergency number but the person on the other end couldn’t understand me. When I called again, no one picked up,” he said.
A voice note Margret had sent to her husband earlier revealed her growing desperation. She said she had contacted the labour office, the embassy, and the police, but none offered assistance. Her mother, Ms Catherine Bahati, said her daughter had frequently complained about mistreatment.
“She told me her boss used to insult her and overwork her with no pay," she said.
The family is now appealing to the government for help in tracing her whereabouts.
“I keep checking my phone constantly, hoping for a message, a missed call or anything. Every morning I pray that she is safe until she is repatriated and reunited with us,” she said.
