This archive report was first published on 25 September 2019.
Lucia Nekesa's journey to freedom began with a lie. In November 2018, she was duped by an unscrupulous Kenyan recruitment agent into thinking she had landed a lucrative job as a domestic worker in Qatar.
However, she found herself in Iraq, where she was sold to a cruel Iraqi recruitment agent, Rahab, and her brother. Nekesa was forced to work for six different employers, with little to no pay, and was subjected to physical and emotional abuse.
Speaking about her experience, Nekesa said, 'NO ONE SHOULD GO TO IRAQ OR ANY OTHER MIDDLE EAST COUNTRY TO WORK AS A DOMESTIC WORKER. WE HAD NO FOOD OR WATER TO DRINK. WE BEGGED FROM THE OFFICERS AT THE AIRPORT BUT THEY JUST LOOKED AT US IN DISMAY.'
She was forced to work non-stop, doing all the domestic chores, including washing cars, gardening, and serving as a security guard. The only time she got to rest was when she hid from her bosses to take a nap for about an hour.
When she managed to contact human rights activists Haki Africa, through her husband Gilbert, Kenyan authorities started following up on the case. However, Rahab started telling everyone that Nekesa had been stealing from her employers, which was a lie.
‘None of the employers I worked for ever complained that I stole from them,’ Nekesa said.
Rahab demanded Sh200,000 from Nekesa's family to arrange her travel back home, while the agent who sold Nekesa to demanded Sh400,000 for her release.
‘Being sold to that rapist of an agent was like the start of my journey back home,’ Nekesa said.
The Iraqi authorities had gotten wind of the agent's operations and raided his office. All the 13 women there, including Nekesa, were arrested and taken to police cells for three weeks before being taken to court.
They were charged with various offences, including being in the country illegally, and were sent to jail where they spent another one month while their travel documents were being processed.
‘In jail, we were mixed with prostitutes, madwomen, those who sold their kidneys, a lot of different characters. I left three Kenyan women in that jail,’ Nekesa said.
After being released from jail, Nekesa was finally able to return home to Kenya, where she was reunited with her family.
