She was raped twice in one day day. The second time was when she was escaping her first ordeal.
C lose to the border of Murang’a and Kirinyaga counties lies a dusty village, with a scattered population.
A majority of Makutano area populace practise subsistence farming as a way of life. But as is the norm in a proper society, everybody cannot venture into farming as an economic activity. Others are businessmen.
For Teresia Njeri Gikonyo alias Trizah, she opted for menial jobs to fend for his family. But even at 29 years, she has a heart-wrenching tale to tell about the sinister world of modern-day slavery in the Middle East.
She tells us how she embarked on a journey that was supposed to bring hope and optimism to Saudi Arabia, but instead, chilling episodes of barbarity, cruelty, and violence manifested at the hands of her employers.
The mother of two says a predatory agent lured her with a promise of a glamorous future of fortune and prosperity. Njeri had posted on Facebook about the need for employment. The unnamed agent slid into her inbox and offered the ‘opportunity.’
She naively seized the moment out of sheer desperation. She was enrolled in a training program in Anthena Home Nursing, Kabete, courtesy of Fregice Agencies.
Njeri says it was explained to them that they would be recruited as office and hospital cleaners, jobs that they found alluring and excited about. She envisaged building her struggling mother a house and give her two daughters a decent life.
After completing the training program, hordes of anxious and excited girls were ready to fly abroad. She was among the group of twenty girls that flew off to Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh on March 26, 2021.
A cold reception under hot sun
After arriving at Mahara Agency office at 8 am in Riyadh, a Kenyan lady supervisor, Marion, ordered them out of the bus. In a condescending tone, Marion allegedly cautioned them against asking questions. They were uncourteously kept outside in the scorching sun for three straight hours. It was an ominous precursor of what was to follow.
“…tukakuta ni gorofa sita…tukaambiwa tuingie na hakuna kuuliza maswali..na tuliwekwa sana nje, like three hours kwa jua na vile joto ya huko ni kali sana ile ya kufanya mtu apoteze macho…” she narrates.
It was not until 5 pm that the starving visitors were offered a meal of plain rice andkubus(a piece of dry unleavened bread). The following morning, they were coerced into signing contract documents typed in Arabic.
It was at that moment they were informed that they had signed up forshagala(housemaid position) contrary to the office cleaner jobs they were prepared for. An angry protest erupted only to be quelled moments later by stern threats from the officials.
Derogative labels, health deterioration & denial of medical treatment
The single mother was assigned a household of seven people. A three-storey building with overwhelming cleaning duties. Due to her dark skin colour and thick physique, her employer’s children would derogatively call herKalb(a dog) or Gorilla. Insults she says she had to ignore for the sake of her peace of mind.
She developed a severe backache problem due to the laborious chores she performed on a daily basis. After telling her employer of her deteriorating health, she was given painkillers which had little effect. Her situation worsened to the point she could not work anymore.
She was brought back to the agency’s office where she met another Kenyan supervisor, only identified as Racheal, who rudely reprimanded her for leaving work. Njeri was reportedly denied medical help.
“…Racheal alisema I don’t look sick, ati I was pretending to avoid working…akanipigia kelele sana..hakunipeleka hosi…nikakaa siku tatu kwa hio ofisi alafu nkapelekwa kwa nyumba ingine,” she recalls.
Near-death experience
She underwent a similar experience in her second employer’s house. She was denied meals and was only allowed two hours of sleep. They would exploit her naivety by sending her to their daughter’s house making her work twice, contrary to the stipulated one household policy.
She somberly recounts how she was ordered to clean windows in a very narrow fourth-floor balcony. The work entailed placing a ladder on the said balcony with no one to hold it steady. She knew her ruthless employer wanted her to plunge to her death.
She refused to do the work, citing the possibility of falling off the balcony. An argument ensued escalating to slaps, blows, and kicks. The household head, she says, tried to grab and shove her off the balcony but she managed to flee and lock herself up in her room till the next day.
“so tulianza ku argue..alinipiga makofi na mangumi tukang’ang’ana akinivuruta ni kama anataka kunirusha apo, so me nkaiona anataka kuniua…nikamshinda nguvu nkajifungia kwa room…”
“kufika kwa ofisi nikapatana na Racheal,….akaniambia I dont care, ofisi kile inataka ni umalize contract whether customer anakutreat vibaya,..unafaa uuliwe apo ndio tuone umeuliwa, lakini kaa umerudi uhai hiyo hatujaona evidence.”
A knife-wielding employer
Barely two weeks after, Njeri was taken to an eighty-year-old employer who owns a seven-storey building. The mean lady would force her to sleep on an empty stomach. One time she found her frying eggs for breakfast, she angrily confronted her then snatched the pan off Njeri’s hands and poured the contents in the garbage can.
One day she threw caution to the wind and sneaked in the kitchen in the wee hours of the morning. Unfazed by the prospect of being caught, she decided to prepare a meal for herself.
The elderly woman stormed into the kitchen seething with rage and poured the hot water Njeri was cooking with on her chest. While yelling insults, she grabbed a kitchen knife threatening to kill a stunned and helpless Njeri.
It took the intervention of Joan, Njeri’s co-worker to prevent the situation from spinning out of control. She left the following morning, despite the violent employer expressing remorse.
July 4 at 5 am: Rape claims
In her last employer’s house, Njeri claims that an uncle and his nephew stormed into her room. The uncle, who had previously poured acid on Njeri’s wrist, ordered her to undress. She was reluctant at first but succumbed to the fear of getting killed.
They would take turns between manning the door and performing the beastly act. The darkest moment in her life, she says, went on for two hours.
Unapologetic about their actions, they told her they would be coming back the following day for another ‘steamy session’. This is when she decided to flee the homestead.
She took a five-hour walk to her agency’s office. Countless police vehicles drove by, stopped briefly to hear her story but declined to offer any kind of help.
“You are a slave, a dog and you will be killed for walking outside,” they would mercilessly tell her.
A ‘good Samaritan’ pulled up and offered help. When they arrived at his place, he reared his ugly head and pulled out a pistol, and asked her to take her clothes off.
She was for the second time raped just hours after her first. The driver however promised not to kill the sobbing and helpless Njeri on condition she kept her mouth shut. The unnamed driver kept his word, drove her to the said destination and shamelessly collected a fee for his generosity as a good samaritan.
The hapless Njeri was again reprimanded for escaping her workplace, by being placed in aMansoola(incarceration for troublesome housemaids). Her agency denied her medical check-up and a plane ticket back home, demanding she finishes her two-year contract.
She categorically refused to work citing the agent’s failure to address her rape incidents and demanded to be sent back to Kenya.
The protracted stand-off came to a halt when a Human Rights Activist came to the rescue. Nelson Muriuki, an influential activist she had been in communication with, issued the agency with an ultimatum. They were to either release her or get exposed for their appalling activities captured in videos sent to him by other captives.
The embattled agency caved into Muriuki’s demands. Njeri alongside four other girls jetted back in Kenya on September 10. They were reunited with their grateful and overjoyed family.
