The State Department for Diaspora Affairs has reacted to a distress signal concerning a Kenyan woman reportedly trapped in a toilet in Saudi Arabia.
This response follows a post on X by a user named @GenZi254, who shared a picture of the woman identified as Vivian Wangamati, alleging that her employer had locked her up.
“Her boss locked her in the toilet in Saudi. She’s asking the Diaspora Ministry and well-wishers to help her return home,” the post stated.
In light of this, Diaspora Principal Secretary Roseline Njogu confirmed that the government is actively looking into the situation and exploring solutions.
“Thank you for reaching out. We have picked up the matter and escalated it to the concerned division at Diaspora Kenya,” she said.
This incident echoes a similar case reported in July, where another Kenyan woman, Elizabeth Nyambura, was stranded and mistreated in Saudi Arabia.
A video shared by The Kenya Times showed Nyambura lying on the floor, appearing to speak, though her voice was inaudible.
An X user, Harry Kabuti, highlighted her dire situation: “She is in Saudi Arabia, locked in a room, mistreated, with no food; she has been beaten.
They couldn’t take her phone from her, but she can’t talk.”
In response to Nyambura’s plight, the Diaspora Ministry indicated that it was investigating the case in line with its mission to protect Kenyans abroad.
Earlier in July, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi revealed that 316 Kenyans have died while working in Gulf countries since 2002, with Saudi Arabia reporting the highest number at 166 deaths.
According to official statistics, there are currently 416,548 Kenyans in Gulf nations, with 310,266 residing in Saudi Arabia alone.
Many Kenyans migrate in search of better job opportunities and higher wages, but domestic workers in the Middle East frequently report hazardous and challenging working conditions.
Despite the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) standards designed to protect workers, many face excessive working hours, harassment, and restricted communication with family and authorities.
