Kenyan Woman Dies of Alleged Carbon Monoxide Poisoning in Qatar

A Kenyan family is mourning the death of their kin who died from alleged carbon monoxide poisoning in Qatar.

Binti Mohammed Mwanyota, a 32-year-old mother of four from Kwale County, worked as a housemaid in the Middle East nation since March last year, according to her family.

On the morning of January 4th, the family received a call from her Saudi Arabian employer who informed them that Binti died after she allegedly inhaled smoke from a burning charcoal jiko while asleep in her room.

She died alongside another woman who she shared a room with. Both were pronounced dead shortly after arrival at the hospital.

The family said they accepted the employer’s explanation, adding that their daughter was on good terms with her employer.

“The report we got from the employer is that she inhaled fumes from a burning jiko, while she was asleep,” her uncle Hamisi Omar told The Star newspaper.

The uncle said Binti’s employer informed them that she had lit a charcoal jiko to keep them warm in the sitting room during this time of winter in Qatar. 

They went to sleep around midnight but Binti carried the jiko into her shared room and locked it from the inside. 

The following morning, none of the two workers had woken up and they decided to break the door only to find them unconscious. They were rushed to the hospital, where they were pronounced dead.

"By the time their employer managed to open the door, the duo were in a very critical condition, efforts to save them proved futile because they passed on some minutes after arriving in the hospital," Omar said.

Binti’s body was scheduled to arrive at Moi International Airport, Mombasa, on Wednesday.

She will be laid to rest immediately in accordance with Islamic rites in Tsimba, Matuga sub-county.

"We are satisfied with what her employer told us, we are not blaming anyone for her death. It is the work of God and we accept it," the deceased’s cousin Athman Salim said.

He added that they will not conduct a postmortem because “the results will not bring any difference, and a soul has already been lost.”

Binti leaves behind her husband and four children.