Embu: A family from Karurumo Village in Runyenjes Constituency, Embu County, is seeking assistance from the Government and well-wishers to bring back the remains of their kin who died in Saudi Arabia a week ago. The family received news of the death of Catherine Wawira, 45, via a phone call from Saudi Arabia on August 1. Wawira had been working in Saudi Arabia since 2011.
According to Kenya News Agency, the family has been unable to make any significant progress in repatriating her body due to the logistical costs involved, including air transport. They are racing against time, as they have until August 25 to repatriate her remains; otherwise, her body will be buried in Saudi Arabia, where she passed away.
Family and friends are struggling to come to terms with the loss and the possibility of her being buried in a foreign country due to financial constraints. Her mother, Margaret Nyaga, pleaded for assistance from the Government and well-wishers to bring her daughter's body back home. "She left here 14 years ago in search of a good life, and now that it has come to this, all we can ask is to be assisted in having her body brought back home and buried at her place of birth," she implored.
Her father, Damiano Nyaga, highlighted the burden they face, not only in facilitating her burial but also in taking care of the two children and grandchildren she left behind. "As we speak, we have less than three weeks to bring her body back home, and that is why we are appealing to well-wishers to come through for us before it is too late," he said.
Another relative, Alvis Karimi, stated that they had written to the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs seeking assistance to have her body flown back to the country but have yet to receive a response. She expressed that burial arrangements have been disrupted, as mourners visiting their home have been discouraged after realizing the daunting task of repatriating the body. Karimi noted that the deceased had been ailing for some time and had traveled to India for specialized treatment for an undisclosed ailment. She was in the process of returning home when her health deteriorated.