Family struggles to repatriate kin's body from Saudi Arabia

Praxidis Okiya during an interview at her home in Eldama Ravine over the weekend. Her daughter, Eunice Achieng, passed away in Saudi Arabia. [Kipsang Joseph, Standard]

On June 12, Praxidis Okiya received heartbreaking news about the death of her child in Saudi Arabia.

Okiya’s daughter, Eunice Achieng travelled to Saudi Arabia in July 2022 after securing a domestic job through an agent. The family was able to communicate with her for only two months.

According to Okiya, a person claiming to be an officer from the Foreign Affairs and Immigration office informed her that her daughter died in March this year.

When The Standard visited the family at Eldama Ravine, minimal activities were taking place.

“I sometimes wish it turns out to be a case of mistaken identity, any knock on the door gives me hope that it may be my daughter,” Okiya said.

The mother of nine recalled when her daughter first broke the news to her that she was making arrangements to travel to Saudi Arabia.

She recalled dissuading the daughter as she feared that anything might happen to her following a spate of attacks on domestic workers abroad.

Her pleas, however, fell on deaf ears as her daughter was determined to travel. “She told me to have faith in her as she was on a mission to change our lives,” the woman said.

Achieng left the country in July 2022 and in August Okiya received a call from her alleging that her host was mistreating her.

Her voice, the woman said, was full of fear and shaky, forcing them to embark on arrangements to rescue their girl.

"Save me' was the last word I heard from my daughter. Since then, I have been having nightmares not knowing her fate,” she said fighting tears.

Before receiving the news, the devastated mother explained that she had made plans to go to the Immigration Office to launch a missing person report.

Her daughter was married in Kisumu and left her children with the in-laws hoping that her new job in Saudi Arabia would help her fend for her family.

The family is alleged to have sought help from an activist in the United States of America who conducted his investigations only to learn that Achieng died on October 5, 2022.

A death certificate seen by The Standard allegedly given by the activist revealed that Achieng died under unclear circumstances.

The family alleged that the officer from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed them to raise Sh330,000 for repatriating the body.

Efforts to get a comment from the Foreign Affairs Ministry were in vain as an officer identified as Emma Gicheha said that the information would only be given to the family.