A Kenyan woman whose story of cruelty at the hands of a Saudi employer outraged many has returned home.
Diana Chepkemoi had an emotional reunion with her family and supporters at Nairobi’s main airport on Tuesday afternoon.
“I left Kenya in the hope of finding a better life in Saudi Arabia.” People are suffering, and mine is just the tip of the iceberg…. “I’m pleading with the government to do something, to help them, because they’re in pain,” she told reporters.
She also claimed she was subjected to “psychological abuse,” claiming her employer told her she was “bought” and that “anything” could be done to her.
Ms Chepkemoi’s mother expressed “deep gratitude” for her daughter’s safe return, noting that the 24-year-old was in “critical condition.”
“I was helpless, and I thank everyone who helped Diana return home alive,” Clara Cherotich said.
Ms Chepkemoi appeared listless and emaciated in photos shared on social media over the weekend, far from her radiant self before she left the country in June last year.
This prompted her family and Kenyans on social media to campaign for her release.
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Brighton Yegon, a local MP who was among those at the airport, said he would introduce a motion in parliament prohibiting the export of workers to Saudi Arabia.
Following the outcry, Ms Chepkemoi was picked up from her employer’s house and rushed to a top-tier hospital for a check-up, according to a statement issued by the Kenyan embassy in Riyadh on Monday.
She was later released and referred to a specialized hospital for further evaluation, where she received a clean bill of health.
“The only difference is that I had the audacity to speak up.” “It’s a shame that your government can’t do anything,” Ms Chepkemoi told reporters.
According to a report submitted by the foreign affairs ministry in 2021, 89 Kenyans died in Saudi Arabia, the majority of whom were domestic workers.
Source: BBC
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