Family seeks help to bring home the body of a woman who died in Iraq four years ago

Lucy Wambui Ng’ang’a

Eight years ago, it was tears of joy as Lucy Wambui Ng’ang’a left her home in Kinangop, Nyandarua County, to seek greener pastures in Iraq with high hopes that the opportunity would change her family's fortune.

Tears of joy were shed, prayers recited and songs of praise belted as she boarded a plane for the Middle East Country ready for a new challenge as a domestic worker.

And true to her words she supported the family every month with the little that she earned from her employers.

However, the family’s joy was short-lived as in 2020, when she went silent and after months of searching and calling, they realised that their daughter died in unclear circumstances.

There were conflicting reports over the cause of death with Iraq agencies saying she died from pneumonia while Kenyans alleged foul play including physical abuse.

And as the family antagonized and sought unanswered questions while seeking ways to ferry the body back home, their worst fears were confirmed.

The body had been interred in a public cemetery, thousands of kilometers away without their knowledge while the cause of death remained a mystery.

Six years down the line, the family has received a reprieve after the High Court directed the State to repatriate the body at its cost for a decent burial by the family.

The court directed the Kenya National Human Rights Commission (KNHRC) to investigate the cause of Wambui’s death and other cases that had been reported in the Middle East in the last three months.

The court further noted that the victims of Middle East abuses were entitled to effective protection by the State against modern day slavery, human trafficking, rape, deaths and any other human rights violation.

In the case, the deceased brother John Ng’ang’a Muigai, Kituo cha Sheria, Hakii Jamii Rights centers and 11 other victims of abuse had filed a petition over the exposure of Kenyan migrants to modern slavery.

They had filed the petition against the CS’s for Labor, Foreign Affairs, Kenya National Employment, Registrar of Persons and Directorate of Migration seeking suspension of all labor migration to the Middle East until the State met all basic minimums.

While seeking compensation for the victims, the petitioners also accused the State of disregarding tens of cases of death and abuse in the region.

They further wanted the court to issue an order compelling the respondents to repatriate any migrant workers and their families stranded in the region.

They wanted the State ordered to establish programmes that assist in rehabilitation and reintegration of the victims, many of whom were traumatized by the ordeal.

In her ruling, Justice Jemimah Keli directed the Ministry of Foreign affairs and Directorate of immigration to repatriate the body of Wambui at the State expense for burial by the kin.

“This judgment should be made available to the Kenya National Human Rights Commission to establish the cause of death of Lucy Wambui and all those who have died in unclear circumstances in the Middle East,” reads the judgment in part.

The judge ordered the State agencies named in the petition to with immediate effect jointly carry out fresh vetting of all local employment and recruitment agencies.

She further issued a declaration that the victims of Middle East abuses were entitled to effective protection by the State against modern slavery.

“This judgment should be transmitted to the office of the Attorney General for consideration and legislation of a labor and a comprehensive and harmonized migration policy,” said the judge.

The judge, however, declined to issue compensation for violation of constitutional rights as sought by the petitioners, noting that their rights had been vindicated by the issuance of the court's declarations and interdicts.