Kenyan Family in Agony After Kin's Mysterious Death in Saudi Arabia

A Kenyan family is in agony following the mysterious death of their kin in Saudi Arabia about two weeks ago.

Judith Adhiambo, 37, traveled to the Gulf state in June this year after securing a job as a domestic worker through a local recruitment agency, according to her husband George Otieno.

Otieno, who has been taking care of their four children since Adhiambo left, said his wife worked well for the first two months before she had a disagreement with her employer, prompting her to leave the home and return to her agency holding room in Riyadh.

“She sent her first salary and we went shopping with our children. Our lives had begun to improve,” he told The Standard. “She was the provider in the family and took the initiative and opportunity to move abroad on our family’s behalf.”

The mother of four stayed at the agency’s accommodation as she waited for her exit visa to be processed.

On November 27th, Otieno and Adhiambo had a lengthy phone call where she informed him that she was set to board a plane from Saudi Arabia and arrive in Kenya the following day.

“She spoke to our children for hours and promised them they would see her the following day with goodies,” the distraught husband said.

The following day, Otieno received a call from an anonymous person who broke the distressing news of his wife’s demise. It is alleged that she fell inside a bathroom in her holding room and died

“Someone called me and said that my wife had died. But how could she be dead? It was barely 24 hours since we last spoke and she promised to come home,” Otieno said.

“I heard that she went to the bathroom to brush her teeth but she overstayed. Her roommates got suspicious and went to check on her only to find her on the ground.”

Adhiambo’s brother-in-law Vincent Oduong said they had to push and the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs and her agency took up the matter.

“We are traumatized because we were told to wait without a timeframe. We need to mourn, bury her, heal and then prepare her children for school in January,” he said.

 Anthony Kamau, the agent who facilitated Adhiambo’s travel and employment in Saudi Arabia said his agency has to wait for the Saudi government to investigate her death before they can fly the body to Kenya.

“We will cater for the air ticket but we have to wait until Saudi Arabia concludes the investigation and rules out foul play in her death. Until then, we cannot promise the family anything,” he said.