Martha Wanjiru who died in Saudi Arabia last October and Wanjiru’s mother, Jane Njoki, in Eldoret /MATHEWS NDANYI /HANDOUT
A family in Eldoret is living in agony after their 28-year-old daughter Martha Wanjiru died in Saudi Arabia six months ago and is yet to be buried.
The family has been waiting for assistance from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the recruitment agent who took her to Saudi Arabia to help them repatriate the body back home.
Her mother, Jane Njoki, 51, who is a hawker in Eldoret, said the agony of waiting has taken a toll on her and other family members.
She said they have no clear information on how she died, where the body is being preserved and when they will get the remains for burial.
“We have been to the diaspora office at the ministry and travelled to Nairobi to meet the agent but all we are told is to wait. Six months later we are stranded with no help,” Njoki said.
She said her second-born daughter reportedly died on October 2 last year, less than a month after she arrived in Saudi Arabia, where she was a domestic worker.
“She had not even earned her first salary when we suddenly received the news that she had died after developing heart complications. We were informed of her death by the agent who helped her travel,” Njoki said.
She said before her death, they had been in touch through social media and she had not complained of sickness.Y
“Even before she left for Saudi Arabia, she was not sick and was hopeful she would work hard and help us. She told me that she was to earn Sh30,000 monthly,” the mother said.
When the Star called the recruitment agency which took Wanjiru to
Saudi Arabia, a representative said
they were following up the case
but it was tricky because she had
reportedly changed her employer
while there.
