Kiambu Senator Karungo wa Thang'wa has claimed that a Kenyan man has been apprehended just days after exposing the plight of Kenyans in Saudi Arabia.
Taking to social media on Wednesday, the senator said that the Kenyan, a man known as Kiongozi, was among those he visited during his trip to Riyadh, which exposed that several Kenyans, mostly mothers, were stranded and homeless in the Middle Eastern nation and had been forgotten by both governments.
According to Thang'wa, Kiongozi had allegedly received threats for apparently soiling the reputation of Saudi Arabia.
"A Kenyan in Saudi Arabia, known as Kiongozi, one of those I visited during my tour of Riyadh, has been apprehended," Karungo said. "This comes just days after he received threats, warning him of dire consequences, including 'surgery' for exposing what Kenyans are going through."
Thang'wa further shared the screenshot of the threats, seemingly posted in a series of WhatsApp status messages in which he was warned to respect Saudi Arabia.
The threats directly pointed out the issue of politicians going to Saudi Arabia to "show a few bad negative cases" of homeless Kenyans, directly hitting out at the senator.
Reportedly, the man who made the threats is a Saudi who has business roots here in Kenya.
"This is exactly what I have been saying. This is the reality our people face when they dare to speak out," Thang'wa said.
"I am asking all Kenyans to turn our eyes on this until our brothers and sisters in Saudi Arabia are safe, free, and well-enumerated. Here are some of the screenshots of the threats. The writer, though a Saudi, has business roots here in Kenya."
A week ago, on Thursday, November 13, the senator took to social media to share the horrors he had witnessed in Riyadh of Kenyan mothers stranded on the streets with no way home due to delays at the Kenyan Embassy in Riyadh.
These administrative delays meant that most mothers would be stranded in the country, as one cannot leave with their children born in the country without a DNA test, a process that has been reportedly delayed for years.
One such case involved a mother from Vihiga County who was living on the streets with an eight-year-old child whose DNA test for the child was purportedly taken three years ago by officials who travelled from Kenya through the embassy, but the results are yet to come in.
On November 10, a New York Times investigation found that unwed Kenyan women who gave birth in Saudi Arabia were also often left trapped. The Islamic conservatory values in the Middle Eastern country meant that these births are often considered unlawful they could even be jailed for the same.
"It is as if their children do not exist. Without identification documents, they are banished to the fringes of society. Yet they cannot leave the country, either," an excerpt from the New York Times article read.
This is even though some of these pregnancies often result from alleged abuse at the hands of employers, a phenomenon that has been reported for years.
The Kenyan government, however, continues to send Kenyan workers to work domestic jobs in the country, although they are among the most poorly paid of the foreign workers.
