BODY OF KENYAN WOMAN MURDERED IN EGYPT GOING HOME MONDAY; HER KILLER COMMITTED SUICIDE

Update:

A source in Egypt with knowledge of the goings on in the Grace Wangui murder cause has said her body is scheduled to sent back home on Monday, granting her mother’s wish.

Circumstances surrounding the death of a Kenyan woman murdered in Cairo, Egypt, remain unclear almost a month after her murder.

Grace Wangui, believed to be 34, worked as a domestic worker when she met her death on the night of September 23rd. 

Madam Soha, the agent who found Wangui the job, said her employer’s son killed her.

“The guy hit Grace with something in the head and threw himself through the window, and they’re both dead,” the recruiter said in a recorded message. 

Upon realizing he had killed Wangui, the man committed suicide by jumping from the 13th floor of the building. 

Madam Soha said she hired Wangui to care for the older man on September 14, but after a few days on the job, Wangui called and complained the man’s son was harassing her. 

The agent said she spoke to the employer about Wangui’s complaints, but the man assured her that his son was just on a short visit and would return to Canada in a few days, resolving the matter.

She did not hear from Wangui again until Thursday, September 22, when she woke up to find multiple messages from Wangui and a missed call. Wangui said weird things were happening at the house that night.

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While she was still processing the messages from Wangui, about two hours later, she was contacted by Wangui’s husband, who told her he couldn’t reach her. Soon after, she heard from her driver, who told her somebody from Wangui’s employer’s family was asking for her passport.

Soha said the police contacted her and informed her that Wangui was killed in the night.

Sources in Egypt familiar with the incident have refuted reports that Wangui’s body was also thrown from the 13th floor. Reports from various online media stating that Wangui was murdered after refusing sexual advances from her killer remain unconfirmed. 

Wangui’s death is the latest of several fatal incidents among Kenyans in the Middle East. While most casualties reported have occurred in Saudi Arabia, several Kenyans have lost their lives in Egypt.

A Kenyan living in Egypt who requested anonymity said their community had suffered at least five deaths in the recent past, but Kenyans in Egypt have avoided the media limelight because their community came together to raise funds and sent the victims home. 

Kenyans who seek domestic work opportunity in the Middle East have complained about abuse and working in modern day slave conditions under the hands of their employers. They have blamed the Kafala system, where employers have near total control over a migrant worker, as a recipe for the abuse similar to slavery.

According to Council of Foreign Relations, Kafala is practiced in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries—Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates—as well as Jordan and Lebanon.

Egypt, however, is not a signatory to the Kafala system and workers are free to change jobs as they see fit.

An official at the Kenyan Embassy in Egypt declined to provide updates about when Wangui’s body would be transported but to Kenyan for burial, or details about circumstances leading to her death. He instead referred us to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Nairobi.

Wangui’s family has spoken to the media and appealed to the government to help bring their loved one back home and fully investigate the circumstances surrounding her death.

Note: This is a developing story. We’ll keep updating it as we gather more information.