A standoff ensued at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on Wednesday after the family of a woman who died in Saudi Arabia under unclear circumstances refused to sign a form that allows them to collect her body.
The family of 21-year-old Beatrice Waruguru insisted they would not sign the form until they are allowed to ascertain that the body that arrived at the airport from the Gulf state was that of their daughter.
But officials at JKIA maintained they could not allow the family to view the body at the facility as it is against the airport facility.
“We were told that we could only view the body after signing the receipt documents. The body, which I’m not sure is that of my daughter, had been wrapped like luggage. The airport officers told us to accept it and go view it at the mortuary,” the deceased’s mother Mercy Wanjiru said as quoted by The Standard.
The Association of Skilled Migrant Agencies of Kenya (ASMAK) representative Josephine Muriuki, who was supposed to witness the signing of the body receipt documents, said she would alert authorities that Waruguru’s body arrived at JKIA but her family refused to collect it.
The five-hour standoff ended at around 6:00 pm when the family finally agreed to collect the body without viewing it at the airport. Reports indicate the body will be preserved at Kenyatta University Funeral Home awaiting burial.
Waruguru reportedly left Kenya for Saudi Arabia in February 2021 shortly after completing her secondary education but died under unclear circumstances last December, with her family claiming she was tortured. On May 7th, the family was informed that their daughter’s body had been processed for transportation from Saudi Arabia.
Cases of Kenyan women dying under unclear circumstances while working as housemaids in Saudi Arabia have been on the rise in recent years, with the government being accused of doing little to protect the lives and wellbeing of Kenyans working in the Middle East.
Not again. We need to…
Not again. We need to protect our girls. I am saddened
And more girls are heading…
And more girls are heading to Saudi Arabia.
It is out of desperation and…
It is out of desperation and belief it will not happen to them. when you are secondary school lever or even a graduate and cannot get a job in Kenya you do not think twice if an opening for making some cents occur . problem we have is Kenya government does not negotiate with murderous s arabia on conditions / it is worse than slavery at least they were beaten but they did not kill this much they wanted them to keep toiling
The terrorists kill another…
The terrorists kill another African. RIP.
It is very sad but Kenyan…
It is very sad but Kenyan life is not sacred. The ragheads knows that and that is why they kill Kenyans at will. If it’s Americans or Europeans being killed like that in Saudi Arabia probably those countries would declare a war on Saudi Arabia but since they know in Kenya a cow or a goat’s life is more valued than a human life they kill Kenyans at will. Ordinary people and security personal gets killed over cattle rustling on daily basis at Nanyuki, Baringo, Turkana and other places without a recourse. Since Kenya government is not ready to defend Kenyans life the only option left is for affected Kenyans families to take law in their own hand and do what Islam teaches about revenge-an eye for an eye and a tooth for tooth. There are a lot ragheads Saudi Arabians that goes to Kenya to kill animals. Those could be good targets to prevent innocent animals from being killed!!!
Proof you point with verse…
Proof you point with verse in Quran about “do what Islam teaches about revenge-an eye for an eye and a tooth for tooth”?
Don’t question me!!!. Saudi…
Don’t question me!!!. Saudi Arabians are killing our girls like rats. We need to end to this one way or another. How would they `feel if it’s their daughters, mother’s and sisters being raped and murdered? How comes Kenyan government does nothing to address this killings? How long will Kenyans continue to die under the hands of Arabs? Long Live Israel!!!!. Death to Arabs!!!!
MPs acting as vampires here,…
MPs acting as vampires here, by owning these agencies that lure our young girls to Arabian Slavery.
This trend is saddening…
This trend is saddening. What is the government doing to protect our sisters? Apart from waiting to tax the money sent home. It’s mind boggling and disheartening. May She RIP
Looks like when our…
Looks like when our daughters get a visa to Saudi are signing their death certificate. What’s happening there? It’s the same story over and over again.
I can understand the…
I can understand the hesitancy of the family in signing the body receipt documents without first viewing the body. There was a family from Kawangware hapo karibu na bar ya Kamau wa Njoroge who signed without asking questions and on reaching the mortuary, they were shocked to learn that they had collected the body of a 90-year-old Sikh mhindi.
Not even one women rep or…
Not even one women rep or female official in politics raises a finger. But busy attending funerals. This pandemic must be stopped. Sh88b expressway and losers 500b sgr could have been channeled to job creation. Life matters not monuments
Very sad condolences to the…
Very sad condolences to the family.I hope Kenyans and other labourers in these countries get justice and better work and living cobditions.
A work colleague who thinks…
A work colleague who thinks Africa is infested with wild carnivorous terrestrial creatures asked me which is the most dangerous animal in Kenya. My answer; a politician. These class or people connected to them are the ones involved in trafficking our daughters to the Gulf Arab world.
When is enough gonna be…
When is enough gonna be enough .no amount of money is worth life
Are the Arabs so lazy that…
Are the Arabs so lazy that they cannot even wash dishes that they have used to have their meals?
Why do they (Arabs) need modern day slaves from COHO (Continent Of Human Origins – wrongly given the name of a man born in Spain called Leo Africanus and now labeled AFRICA in memory of him?) to wash their dishes?