This morning I woke up to a unanimous letter which was sent to my e-mail. The letter was 2 page PDF file, written by what was described as "Kenyan Fraternity In Riyadh". This emotional letter is addressed to the 5 Kenyan families who have lost their loved ones in Saudi & a detailed narrative of intimidation tactics by the Kenyan Embassy in Riyadh, Mwana's unjustified arrest, and Rahab Njeri's death. I salute this fraternity for their bravery and I hope someone will hear and act quickly!
The Late Rahab Njeri Who Died Recently After Negligence By The Kenyan Embassy In Saudi Arabia
DATE 30TH JUNE 2020. TO THE FAMILIES OF OUR LATE BROTHER AND SISTERS IN SAUDI ARABIA.
We trust this letter finds you well. Our heartfelt condolences to you dear ones may never be enough during such times of grief, but our prayers and support be assured is overwhelming. Receive sincere greetings from the Kenyan Fraternity in Riyadh. Unfortunately, due to unimaginable circumstances, we are sad to inform you that no longer can we facilitate nor raise funds to repatriate the bodies of our beloved colleagues back home. This has been brought about by harassment and threats from our embassy in the Kingdom. This comes as a reprisal after the ambassador and the Labor Officer were exposed on media after neglecting Miss Rahab Njeri, who later passed on seeking Embassy’s assistance to facilitate hospital admission.
Since then, the ambassador had sworn to use his powers thereafter to vanquish community leadership. Thereafter, interestingly (22/06/2020) one of the volunteers, Peter Calisto popularly known as Mwana Wa Mary, who has been spearheading the contribution and other noble initiatives, was arrested and detained incommunicado within the embassies residency on Kenyan Embassy’s directives.
As per our culture, we usually raise cash amongst ourselves (Kenyans working in Saudi Arabia) and history has it, we have cleared hospital bills, hefty court fines and tens of bodies of our beloved brothers and sisters repatriated. In this case, we had a target of Ksh 1, 690,000 for a total of five bodies, translating to Ksh 338,000 per body, this includes mortuary fees, freight, and clearing forwarding charges. Whereas, some entities may have approached you with an exaggerated amount of between Ksh 380,000 to 400,000.
Kindly be informed that the Kenyan Community in Saudi Arabia, now is under constant intimidation and threatened with arrest by the mission established to protect and serve them. some cannot risk detention and deportation while volunteering, whereas many are breadwinners whose families look up to for livelihood. As we find ways to overcome and cushion the pressure, be assured we can complete this journey together.
Regards, Cc Kenyan Community in Saudi Arabia.
Cc Kenya Human Rights. Cc Office of the Ombudsman
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