Diana Chepkemoi, a Kenyan University student residing in Saudi Arabia where she had travelled in search of greener pastures has been rescued following a public outcry.
Kenyans on social media demanded her release from her paymasters in Saudi Arabia where she was stranded.
The Meru University student had been working as a housekeeper in Saudi Arabia due to lack of school fees, which had led to her deferring from school.
Her photos which circulated on different social media platforms showed that she was in bad condition as her body looked emaciated signalling suffering in the hands of her paymasters.
Yesterday, her family appealed for help from the government to bring her back home.
“I feel helpless that my daughter’s life is in danger in the hands of a foreigner in a faraway land and there is nothing I can do. I just want her home,” her mother said.
She said she last saw her in March 2021 when her daughter informed her of her plans to travel.
Her sister, Lorrain Cheptoo, said that her sibling was being held in Saudi Arabia against her will.
“She looked for ways to make a living until mid-last year she got an opportunity to travel to Saudi Arabia as a domestic worker,” Cheptoo said.
“I last saw her in January last year, we were reluctant at first but had to support Diana and her decision to go work in Saudi Arabia, we had occasional video calls, and she seemed healthy until mid-July, Diana became unreachable on WhatsApp for a week,” she added.
She said that when she tried reaching her on other platforms she became distant but would later resurface to disclose that her boss had confiscated her phone and documents.
Cheptoo said that she became ill and her try to access medication was in vain as her employee wouldn’t let her with Susan, the agent in charge of facilitating her travel said that the case needed quick action
“Diana came to my office one and a half years ago; she told me she was sick and had lost a lot of weight, and I made plans with our partners in Saudi Arabia,” she said.
She also said that she has dealt with many similar cases and her company ensures that immediately an exit is issued, the girls are back in the country in 24 hours.