The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has responded to allegations that the Kenyan Embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia neglected one Rahab Njeri who died in Riyadh recently.
In a statement on Thursday, the ministry countered the claims by a section of Kenyans who claimed that embassy officials in Riyadh mistreat them and are inefficient.
The ministry indicated that Njeri died in a hospital where the mission booked her contrary to reports that she died outside the embassy after being kicked out.
The statement added that the mission rendered the necessary assistance despite her lacking “medical insurance and other relevant documentation” which, in normal circumstances, lock her out from accessing medical services in any health facility in Riyadh.
On Tuesday, a group of Kenyans believably working in Saudi took to social media where they shared a video asking the president to change the staff at the Kenyan Embassy in Saudi Arabia.
“Our own Kenyan passed on because of a human being who does not care about someone else’s life…President Uhuru Kenyatta, we are pleading; remove these people from the embassy here,” an agitated woman said in the video.
She said that one of the officials failed to sign a letter to have Njeri wheeled to hospital which led to her death.
An unidentified man who speaks in the video recalled that Njeri visited the embassy in March to seek medical attention.
She was taken to hospital on March 15, 2020, by the embassy and was later discharged but asked to stay with a fellow Kenyan.
Unfortunately, her condition got worse after discharge. Understandably, she underwent a surgery at a private facility but she was required to be admitted at a public hospital for specialized treatment.
“We have tried our best because the Government of Saudi [Arabia] needed a letter from the Embassy that we did not get,” he said bitterly.
He said that Njeri was forced out of the embassy buildings while unwell and passed out. By the time she got to the hospital, she was already dead.
