Kenyan hostages set free at last

And his colleague Jalal Awadh admitted: "We feared for our lives."

But Mr Awadh added, as the three savoured their new found freedom at Kuwait City airport, after flying in from Iraq, "We were treated well by the captors. They did not mistreat us in any way."

The men said they had been freed together with four other hostages held with them – three Indians and an Egyptian – in the afternoon then handed over to the Indian embassy in Baghdad.

On hand to welcome them all was the Kenyan High Commissioner to Saudi Arabia, Dr Yusuf Nzibo, who booked them in a hotel as they awaited a flight back home to Kenya.

It was the end of what their employers called a terrible nightmare that had lasted for 42 days and nights.

They were all seized on July 21 near the Iraq city of Falluja, after their convoy carrying relief materials took a wrong turning.

Back home in Mombasa their heartbroken families courageously clung to the hope the kidnappers would not carry out their threat to behead the hostages one by one if their demands were not met.

In the event the hostage-takers, from the previously unknown group calling itself itself the Black Banners Division of the Islamic Secret Army, had dropped all conditions except one: that the men's employers should stop work in Iraq.

The firm, the Kuwait and Gulf Link Transport Company (KGL), complied, opening the way for talks.

In Mombasa the wife of hostage Jalal Awadh, Mrs Samira Ahmed Awadh, rejoiced at her husband's freedom, then immediately announced that he would never return to Kuwait or Iraq.

As she celebrated with her family at their home she said: "I want him back and there is no going back."

She went on: "If he has to work anywhere else then it should be Saudia Arabia and if not, then has to get a job locally!

And shedding tears of joy, another of the waiting wives – Mrs Aisha Mwadige Khamisi – said: "We have a major welcoming party planned for the homecoming of my dear husband."

Mrs Hidaya Mohamed, the wife of the third Kenyan hostage, Mr Faiz Mohamed, who saw her husband appear alive and well on satellite TV, added: "My heart is relieved; we are very happy that this time we know for sure they have been released."

Earlier, the KGL spokeswoman, Ms Rana Abu Zaineh, speaking of the drivers' release, said: "We were overjoyed; we were jumping up and down in the corridors when we heard they were out." 

And she added: "We had people there working on their release. This is the end of a terrible nightmare. I hope that all the other hostages in Iraq awaiting their freedom will be released."

Previous talks between KGL and the kidnappers had been mediated by Iraqi tribal leader Sheikh Hisham al-Dulaymi but broke down at one point.

Tension had been heightened only yesterday by the execution of 12 Nepalese hostages held in Iraq by a different group.

Mrs Aisha Mwadige Khamisi commented tartly that she had not doubted the men's release this time round since the news came not from the Kenya Government, but from international media houses and her husband's workmates. 

And speaking at her home in Kongowea, she went on: "I am very thankful to Allah for answering our prayers."

Mrs Khamisi was referring to an earlier, false, announcement by Foreign Affairs minister Ali Mwakwere that the hostages had been set free.

Shedding tears of joy, Mrs Khamisi added her family would celebrate once her husband had arrived home.

She said she first received news of his release from her sister-in-law, Mrs Hindu Ismail, who had spoken to her husband.

Mrs Ismail said her brother was jovial and elated and told her that they were heading to an embassy. 

"The line was not very clear so I did not hear what embassy he was talking about. He promised to call back immediately he was in a place with clear reception," she said.

Mr Khamisi's teenage daughter, Shufaa, said: "When I see my father I will fast for three days to thank God for keeping him alive for all those days."

At the Bamburi home of Mr Jalal Awadh, his wife Mrs Samira Ahmed sat and recited prayers and verses from the Koran to thank God for the men's release.

"The family is very grateful to Allah for the hostages’ release. We thank Allah for giving us patience to withstand this trying moment of our lives," said Mrs Awadh.

She said she had received the news of her husband’s release from his brother in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, moments before it was broadcast on television.

"My brother was the first person to call me to inform me of the good news," she said, flanked by her two children Fatma and Zena.

She said she is happy for herself and relatives who were able to withstand the ordeal. 

And in Majengo, family members and friends of Mr Faiz Mohamed celebrated as they watched live satellite television broadcasts highlighting the release.

Mr Mohamed's elder brother, Mr Said Khamisi, said: "My heart felt relieved when I saw Faiz being interviewed on television."

He added that for the first time since the beginning of the crisis on July 21, he shed tears of joy.

Asked whether the family would allow Mr Mohamed to return to Kuwait, he replied simply: "He will never go back there."

The secretary general of the Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya (CIPK), Sheikh Mohamed Dor, said he was thankful to the governments of Kenya, Iraq, India and Egypt for helping the release.

He continued: We thank Allah for answering our prayers by granting the release of the hostages.

Reporting by BERNARD NAMUNANE, MSHENGA MWACHARO, ABDULSAMAD ALI