A Kenyan woman who had moved to work in Saudi Arabia, Riyadh has regretted having gone to work in the Arabian nation for two years. Upon landing in Kenya, she says it was her worst mistake she had ever made.
From her narration, she says that she was forced to kill, slaughter and prepare fat snakes for her employers. Besides she received beatings and other human related abuse with little help from those who facilitated her movement.
Maria Mmboga says she secured her job in 2014 where she met other workers from Africa and Asia heading for work in the same nation. It all looked like a dream job for a start.
At the bureau where the employers come for you, there were Indians, Filipinos and Africans, and we were treated well and I didn’t expect any foul play,” said
She said adding that after there, she was isolated and taken to Halfar A-Batin, 430 KM away rural village away from Riyadh.
“It was a confined place, very hot and isolated. I was given a hijab which I was warned never to remove.”
After her phone was confiscated and thrashed, she was warned never to talk to anyone nor go out of the compound without permission. She was harassed, beaten and overworked with constant threats and beatings. This inhumane activities came from the husband, wife and daughter
“After slaughtering snakes and cooking them for months, I could not sleep anymore because I would see them in my dream and wake up shouting. That alone resulted in more beatings at night,” she adds.
She was told that they paid alot of money to get her, hence she should not complain. She also says her prayers were finally answered after two years without pay, after enduring torture.
But as things got even worse to a death point, one of the friends to her boss got concerned and who later helped her get bck to Kenya once her contract was over.
She was later paid for her 2 year contract in full before coming back.
She never believed she was coming back until she landed back in Kenya
Maria who is now living in a church and has recorded her first gospel song advises Kenyans to love their country with all its challenges, as it’s still the best country.
“When I hear people say I hate Kenya, I pity them because they don’t know what they are talking about,” she warns.