The family of a Kenyan househelp in Saudi Arabia, Stella Nafula, is a worried lot following the sudden death of their daughter.
Speaking to the press on Saturday, February 19, the distraught family revealed details of their last phone call with their daughter before she was pronounced dead.
In the call, Nafula sounded distressed and had given up on life thanking her brother for attempting to help her from miles away.
"Brother, I do not think I will live to see tomorrow but it is not a problem. Thank you for all you have done for me," stated Nafula in what would be her last conversation with her family.
Her mother, Mary Wekesa, revealed that her daughter was taken ill a month after travelling to Saudi Arabia. She arrived in the Middle East in August 2021.
Wekesa disclosed that Nafula's employer informed her of her daughter's illness but failed to offer any medical help to her.
The family is now seeking the government's intervention in bringing back her body noting that their efforts to reach her agent bore no fruit.
"I urge the government of Kenya to help the youngsters looking for jobs abroad to use embassies and not agents since the latter are dodgy," stated the area's village elder Ben Sila, according to Citizen TV.
After cases of Kenyan workers being mistreated in Saudi Arabia became rampant over the years, President Uhuru Kenyatta's-led government resolved to send officers from the Ministry of Labour to Saudi Arabia to address the issue.
Labour and Social Protection Cabinet Secretary, Simon Chelugui, in mid-October stated the officials from both countries had planned for a meeting to iron out the thorny issue.
The Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU) Secretary General, Francis Atwoli had earlier accused the Ministry of failing to protect Kenyans employed in Saudi Arabia.
He castigated the government for remaining silent yet workers were being mishandled in Saudi Arabia.
