Selestine Kemoli sought refuge on the Kenyan Embassy in Riyadh in 2020 after fleeing what she described as horrific abuse whereas working as a home employee in Saudi Arabia. In response to her account, her employer slashed her with a paring knife, pressured her to drink urine, and raped her. Determined, alone, and with out cash, she turned to her nation’s diplomatic mission for assist in returning house to her two youngsters.
As an alternative of the assist she wanted, Kemoli says she encountered additional exploitation. The labor attaché on the time, Robinson Juma Twanga, allegedly instructed her: “You might be lovely,” and added, “I’ll sleep with you, simply the identical approach your boss has slept with you.”
Kemoli’s story is considered one of many. A number of Kenyan ladies interviewed by The New York Occasions stated that once they fled abuse in Saudi Arabia, Twanga both demanded intercourse or cash, or pressured them into intercourse work in alternate for help. The ladies lived in separate areas of Kenya and didn’t know one another, but their testimonies confirmed a constant sample.
Religion Gathuo, one other survivor, stated she sought assist from the embassy in 2014 after being crushed and raped. As an alternative of help, she was allegedly met with comparable abuse. “They didn’t look after us,” she instructed The New York Occasions. She claims one other embassy official demanded cash and anal intercourse.
Even after the gravity of those accounts, Kenyan authorities officers have denied any prior data of such complaints. A spokesperson for President William Ruto, responding on behalf of the International Ministry, stated there had been no experiences of mistreatment by embassy workers.
Twanga, when contacted by cellphone, responded, “I can’t get entangled in that sort of story.” He additionally said that he’s now retired.
Every year, tens of 1000’s of Kenyans — largely ladies — journey to Saudi Arabia looking for greater wages. Many face abuse, unpaid labor, or detention in a rustic the place East African home staff lack authorized protections.
A current investigation has additionally proven that highly effective people in each East Africa and Saudi Arabia revenue from this labor system, deepening the vulnerabilities of those migrant staff.
(This text is predicated on unique reporting by The New York Occasions and revealed by Deccan Herald. Full credit score to the original source.)
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