Joy Aoko the 22 year old who was rescued by the Kenyan government as she lay hospitalized in an Albanian hospital has died. Aoko died while receiving treatment at the KUTRRH in Nairobi on Monday 13th February.
Joy, as she’s fondly known by her first name, was brutally assaulted by unknown assailants between August 13 and August 14. Her unconscious body was discovered outside her apartment on August 14, and later rushed to a local hospital, where she remained unconscious.
According to her mother, Ruth Abong’o, Joy had gone went to Albania in February 2022 for an opportunity to advance her life and joined the workforce as a casino operator. Albania, a former communist country with 2.7 million people, is not a popular immigration destination for Kenyans, but Joy got a job there in the gaming industry.
Joy’s mother described her as a loving daughter, a go-getter, and a kind person who always lit up a room with her generosity and positive spirit. According to the mother, Joy who was the last born of her three children, already made a lasting impact in her life when she paid for her to move from her home in Dandora to Buru Buru, a better neighborhood in Nairobi.
A witness in Albania called Lavi said she first met Joy after responding to a blood donation request for a Ghanaian lady. But when she went to the hospital, she discovered Joy was a Kenyan. She later learned the severity of the attack Joy sustained, which included broken ribs and pelvic bones and injuries to her stomach and back.
“We don’t really know what happened to Joy, but it’s a big possibility that she was raped, and she was for sure asphyxiated, which means generally somebody tried to kill her,” Lavi said. Lavi said doctors told her Joy would not survive, but she has continued to make remarkable progress in her recovery. Joy was flown back to Kenyan on Jan 25 and was undergoing treatment before her her demise. Eyewitnesses told police directorate in the capital that Joy Aoko was possibly attacked and r*p3d by her colleague who was charged with the responsibility of dropping her off from work.
