Kenyans victims of modern-day slavery

Kenyans are being held captive as slaves. They are duped by unscrupulous employment agents and sent to the fangs of modern-day slavery in the Gulf, including countries such as war-torn Iraq.

Male and female Kenyans alike are auctioned and bought as commodities to work and toil in hardship conditions. The increased cost of living, high levels of unemployment and poverty in the country, particularly at the Coast, are leaving many vulnerable to modern-day slavery.

In November 2018, 40-year-old Lucia Nekesa was duped by a Kenyan employment agent based in Nairobi that she had secured a job as a housemaid in Qatar.

Nekesa, a mother of five, is a resident of Maweni in Mombasa county. With little job opportunities and dwindling living standards in Mombasa, the employment offer in Qatar was a chance for her to put food on the table for her children, secure school fees as well as put a roof over her family’s head – a welcome relief in hard economic times. Little did she know that was to be the beginning of a tumultuous nine months ordeal.

Upon departure, Nekesa found out that she was actually being taken to Iraq and not Qatar as promised by her employment agent. When she landed in Baghdad, she lost all the rights she had as a free Kenyan and that was the beginning of her hardships. She was taken to a huge building of a few storeys where she was required to clean.

She was shocked to learn that she was to do all that by herself. After a few days of hard labour toiling, Nekesa fell ill and began bleeding profusely from her private parts. When she reported her condition to her employers, they ignored her, not even bothering to take her to hospital or giver her medication.

As days went by, her condition deteriorated until she could not continue anymore. At that point, her employers became angry and tortured her, accusing her of being lazy and refusing to work.

They informed Nekesa that they had paid a hefty sum of money for her and, so, she has no choice but to work. After a few days, the employer took her back to the agents’ office in Baghdad where she was re-assigned to another building. At the new post, the situation was not better. She worked day and night as her health continued to worsen. When she could no longer go on, she was again sent to another post. Each time she shifted to a new post, money exchanged hands. She was being sold off like a slave from one employer to another.

Throughout her ordeal, Nekesa underwent beatings, was locked up for days and starved. When she finally got the opportunity to access a phone last month, she called home to tell her family of her ordeal. The family immediately contacted HAKI Africa who got in touch with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and commenced the process of bringing Nekesa back home to her family.

The Ministry, through CS Monica Juma, followed up the matter diligently until Nekesa’s case was brought to the attention of the Iraqi authorities. At that juncture, she was saved from slavery and sent to Baghdad holding centre, where she remained awaiting deportation to Kenya.

At the deportation centre, Nekesa met five other Kenyan women who had undergone similar ordeals. Two of the five had actually been raped by their employers.

Nekesa came back to Kenya last weekend with one of the five Kenyan women and left the other four still waiting. At the deportation centre, there were also women from other African countries, including Ghana, Ethiopia and Tanzania, she said.

They all reported being tortured and openly treated as slaves. One Ghanaian woman had been raped and impregnated. When the employer learnt of the pregnancy, he tortured her and chased her from his house.

Modern-day slavery is real and Kenyans are victims. The public must be cautious even as we call on the government to put measures to save Kenyans from such horrendous practices.