A Murang’a family is in agony as efforts to bring back their relative who is admitted to a Saudi Arabian hospital for several weeks seem futile.
Relatives say Lucy Wambui has spent more than three weeks in hospital, suffering from an ailment they are unaware of.
Her mother, Margaret Njoki, who hails from Kambirwa village, said her daughter left the country in May this year to seek employment in Saudi Arabia but fell sick towards the end of November.
Njoki decried that efforts to repatriate her daughter to receive treatment in Kenya have proven futile since her employer is not ready to release her.
The mother said the employer claims she paid Sh660,000 to acquire Wambui through an agent and that she is still owed Sh450,000 after deductions of the five months she has worked for them.
“We are very concerned because if they are demanding compensation, we don’t know if they will ask us to pay for the hospital bill too,” lamented Njoki.
Wambui's cousin Sarah Njeri said she was in contact with her when she fell sick.
Njeri said her cousin was taken to hospital after family members sought help at the Saudi Arabia embassy in Nairobi.
“Last month, Wambui informed me she was sick but the employer was not willing to take her to hospital. The employer later took her to the health facility where she is admitted after the Saudi Arabian embassy intervened,” Njeri said.
She added hat her cousin was for some days admitted in ICU and after a CT scan was done, doctors said they could not find what she was suffering from.
“On Wednesday, last week, we were informed she had regained consciousness and had been taken off the ICU," Njeri said.
She said the employer has not yet informed them the name of the hospital Wambui is admitted to or revealed the ailment she is suffering from.
“She had informed us that she has issues with her digestive system and that her colon is inflamed but the last message we received from the employer is that she is having breathing issues,” Njeri said.
According to Njeri, Wambui has been of poor health since she went to Saudi Arabia and her family and friends are now pleading for help to have her repatriated so that they can care for her at home.
She said the employer has been demanding to be compensated the amount they paid for her before they can allow her to leave.
One of Wambui’s aunt, Joyce Njeri, said the family has been grief stricken with the news of her severe illness and is happy that she is improving.
She observed that Saudi Arabia is a far-off country and they have no ability to help her, calling on relevant government agencies to help in repatriating her back to the country.
“We humbly appeal to the government to help us bring our sick daughter back to the country so that we can take care of her,” she said.
She added that without the intervention of the government, Wambui will most likely be forced to continue working despite her poor health.