A family in Kenya is mourning the untimely death of their young kin who died while in search of greener pastures across the Persian Gulf.
In an exclusive e-mail sent to this site’s Chief Editor Cyprian Nyakundi, a former colleague disclosed that Samuel Kigera who worked as a security guard in Qatar succumbed to a short illness due to gross negligence by his employer.
According to the source whose identity (for obvious reasons) we shall not reveal, the shadowy Haitian-founded firm known as “PROFESSIONAL SECURITY SERVICES COMPANY” (PSSC) denied Mr Kigera [JOB NO. PSSC 5946] crucial medical attention which could have saved his life.
This was in total breach of a legal contract under Qatari law which makes it mandatory for workers to be granted access to medical care.
Under such a deplorable environment, he could barely last a few more days.
Interestingly, even in his deteriorating state, the company located in the Umm Salal Ali area did not bother to check on his eating and living conditions which are said to have largely contributed to his demise.
Attached to the disheartening message is a video that shows a group of other PSSC colleagues carrying out the victim’s body from a building that houses its headquarters.
The disturbing footage was captured on the day that Mr Kigera met his death.
“Hello, Cyprian.
What I am about to show you is footage of a Kenyan who lost his life on the 11th of March 2022 in Qatar in Umm Salal Ali area.
Due to the negligence of Company and breach of contract: No medical attention, poor food diet etc this thing must stop.
The company is known as PROFESSIONAL SECURITY SERVICES COMPANY -QATAR ( PSSC).
The deceased name is SAMUEL KIGERA JOB NO. PSSC 5946.
Please hide my identity,” he writes.
Last year, the government confirmed that a record 93 Kenyans have died in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries since 2019.
The figure was out of 87,784 employments facilitated in the Gulf region.
Appearing before the National Assembly’s Labour and Social Welfare Committee, Labour Permanent Secretary (PS) Peter Tum attributed most of the deaths to illness.
Other causes included cancer, childbirth, respiratory complications, tuberculosis and meningitis.
The PS also explained that some of the deaths were a result of accidents and suicide.
With very little opportunity at home, many see working in Arab countries as a ticket out of poverty in a country where about 40% of our population lives below the poverty line.
But Kenya’s Foreign Ministry led by Principal Secretary Macharia Kamau does very little to protect the helpless workers.
It is dereliction of their duty to keep sending unskilled workers to the Gulf to earn a meagre pay that one can earn doing the same job in Kenya.
At least 100,000 Kenyans work in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, most as domestic workers or doing other menial jobs.
Until when will they keep complaining about of lack of payment for their work, forced labor, physical abuse, rape, and dangerous working conditions?
