Kajiado Governor Joseph Ole Lenku made a five-day trip to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to rescue a traumatised woman whose personal effects and documents had been confiscated by her brutal employer.
Lillian Rimanto, 23, was trapped in Abu Dhabi for eight months after running away from her employer in Alshamka.
Ms Rimanto went to Abu Dhabi last year and worked for only two months as a house steward before her stay became untenable due to mistreatment by her employer’s family.
She used a spare phone line to contact several Kenyans, who hosted her for eight months after she failed to get her travel documents back.
Ms Rimanto (2nd left) and her relative when they visited Governor Lenku at his office on August 27, 2021. The Kajiado governor helped rescue Ms Rimianto from the EAU after eight months of agony.
Travel documents
Meanwhile, back in Kenya, her relatives were trying to get her repatriated but her lack of travel documents frustrated their efforts. It is after they reached a dead end that her aunt Peninah Soila approached Governor Lenku to reach out to authorities.
“We were in that situation where you fear you could receive news of her death. We told the governor that either he helps us to get her back alive or he will help us get her remains for burial,” said Soila said.
When it became increasingly clear that Ms Rimanto’s life was in danger, Mr Lenku flew privately to Dubai on August 1 to negotiate her evacuation with UAE officials.
The governor left behind his security detail and aides and once in Dubai, he sought a meeting with diplomatic and immigration officials.
One of the key officers who met the governor was Kenya’s ambassador to the UAE, Kariuki Mugwe.
Mr Mugwe took up the matter and worked with immigration officers to find a way for Ms Rimanto to travel without her documents.
When the governor returned on August 6, Ms Rimanto’s journey home was imminent.
Air ticket
However, having not been paid for the two months she had worked and relying on well-wishers for survival, she could not afford to buy an air ticket and none of her family members could help her.
Governor Lenku again jumped in and bought her an air ticket to Nairobi.
A traumatised Ms Rimanto arrived in Nairobi on Thursday on an Etihad Airways flight and broke into tears as she embraced her sister Lorna Lemayian.
“We were ready for anything to befall her. The governor’s intervention saved her life. She is now okay and healthy but quite depressed,” Ms Lemayian told the Nation.
She cried uncontrollably as she tried to share her ordeal at the hands of her employer.
To hell and back
“When I fell sick and could not work, the family would cook food and make sure they ate everything, maybe in an attempt to starve me to death. I have gone to hell and back. I survived by the grace of God,” Ms Rimanto said in an exclusive with the Nation on Friday.
Upon her arrival, her relatives paid a courtesy call on Governor Lenku on Friday before she returned to her home in Inkariak Ronkena, Kajiado South.
Governor Lenku Sunday said Ms Rimanto’s situation could have ended tragically as all previous efforts to secure her release had failed.
“I hail her as a brave girl who ventured abroad to look for greener pastures. Travelling outside the country at 21 years old takes courage,” he said.
“Had it not turned the way it did, she would have charted her future very well. We empathise with her and her family. We shall partner with the family to bring her back to normal life.”
This is just one of many cases countrywide involving your people who travelled to the Middle East for work and came to regret their decision. Governor Lenku has cautioned Kenyans to carry due diligence before seeking work abroad. BY DAILY NATION
