Sandra Nyaruai Thetu, a Kenyan woman who endured a harrowing ordeal in Iraq, has finally returned to home soil.
She arrived at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to the relief of her family and the many Kenyans who had rallied behind her.
Sandra’s Traumatic Return
Her journey home was made possible through a coordinated push involving her relatives, members of the public on social media and the State Department for Diaspora Affairs.
Over weeks, ordinary Kenyans amplified her story, prayed for her and demanded urgent intervention on her behalf.
Those who received her at the airport described a woman visibly shaken by what she had been through.
At one point during the reception, Sandra became frightened upon seeing an Arab person nearby, a reaction her family attributed to the difficult and distressing experiences she had endured while abroad.
Kenyan Women Still Stranded in Iraq
The sight underscored just how deeply the ordeal had affected her emotionally, even as she stood on safe ground.
While Sandra’s return brings personal closure for her loved ones, Muko Protection Agency raised the alarm about the broader situation still unfolding in Iraq.
The agency disclosed that a significant number of Kenyan women remained at a police deportation centre in the country, waiting to be brought home.
According to the agency, some of those women had been dropped at the facility with no active follow-up on their individual cases, leaving them in a state of limbo.
How Sandra’s Case Went Public
Sandra’s case received widespread attention when her sister Jane raised the alarm after the domestic worker was reportedly found at an Iraqi police station.
The family noted that Sandra was in a grave physical and emotional state, and her phone access was restricted.
During the difficult period, the distressed woman reportedly communicated only one word to those around her: “HELP.”
For Sandra, the uncertainty is over. The long days of waiting, fear and isolation have given way to familiar faces and the comfort of being home.
