Man whose family is stuck in Swaziland asks Uhuru to intervene

Samson Machora, 48, has nothing to smile about this Christmas. This is because he is spending it away from his family, and is worried about their safety.

After 17 years in Swaziland, Mr Machora (right) was  forced to sneak out of the country and back into Kenya, after he started receiving death threats. He is now asking President Uhuru Kenyatta to intervene and help bring his family home safely.

The father of three told The Standard that he moved to Swaziland to start a business, Machora Handicrafts (proprietary) Ltd, and the Swaziland Judiciary also contracted him as a Swahili interpreter for the courts. Life was good until he got an accident in 2005.

Anti-Corruption Commission

"I fell into an uncovered drainage hole and broke my arm. I was hospitalised at Mbabane Government Hospital. In 2006, I sued the Government of Swaziland through the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (civil case No 598/06). The case dragged on and the judgment was passed in June 2011 in my favour," Machora narrates.

He was awarded R481,000 (Sh5.2 million), compensation he is yet to receive. Machora pointed out that he tried to pursue the payment but he was told the case had been appealed and he had lost the case.

"When I tried to ask for the evidence of the court proceedings, none were available even with the court of appeal registrar. I took the matter to the Swaziland Anti-Corruption Commission and they took up the matter. They investigated the matter for a year (from November 2012 to October 2013) after which they forwarded the matter to the prosecution office," he said.

Visits to the prosecution office, Machora explained, bore no fruits with only the promise that the matter would be attended to. Then the threats on his life began in June 2014.

"I started receiving threatening messages and notes left on the windshield of my car. I did not know who they were from and they said I was forgetting that I was a foreigner in Swaziland and they were capable of doing things. At some point, I felt it had become too much and I moved my family to a friend's house," he said.

He travelled to Kenya through Mozambique, Malawi and Tanzania.