9 months a slave: Kenyan man's Qatar ordeal

“We departed at JKIA at 5pm and landed at Hamad International Airport in Qatar in the middle of the night,” Kiprotich said.

At the airport, the person who was set to pick them did not show up. At 3am, someone calling himself “John” arrived with a van with the name of the firm that supposedly hired them.

They were taken to the firm’s warehouse, where they were abandoned with no food or money.

Kiprotich had left home with the assurance that as soon as they report to work, they would be advanced some pocket money, apart from being supplied with food to be deducted from their salary at the end of the month.

They were, however, made to sign a three-month contract, although they had signed a two-year deal in Nairobi. And instead of the role he was promised (security guard), he ended up as a flagman.

“The three of us were attached to Elite Construction Company, and I was a flagman controlling traffic and inspecting the ground the excavator was working. We, however, persevered,” Kiprotich said.

As they started working, misery befell them as the food ratio was too little compared to what they had in Kenya, although they were deducted 300QAR (Qatar rials; Sh8,321) from the 1,200 QAR monthly pay (Sh33,285).

“When the first month ended, there was no salary coming, and when I inquired, I was told you’ll be paid. Eventually, a manager in the firm informed us that the salaries had been paid out,” he said.

After three months of work without pay and with no Qatari labour documents, they had no option but to abandon the company for another.

“John had taken away 2,700QAR from each of the three of us but we could not report anywhere because one has to have labour documents, and for one to leave and work elsewhere, you must be cleared by a no-objection letter,” Kiprotich said.

It emerged that the company had been paying the mysterious agent “John”, who picked them at the airport, instead of paying them directly.

“We were not given any document apart from our passports, which we were told the visa on it covers everything, including insurance, but they were all white lies,” Kiprotich said.

One morning in October 2018, as he was climbing down the stairs from a building, Kiprotich slipped and broke his hip joint.

Unaware of the complicated medical condition, Kiprotich made an emergency call for assistance, and an ambulance was dispatched to find him crawling on the floor.

He was admitted at Hamad International Hospital but could not be attended to because he had no insurance cover and had no money.

“I was only administered with pain killers, staying there for a month and eventually discharged, but I had nowhere to go and I could not walk. I needed crutches, which were 430QAR,” Kiprotich said.

He eventually posted his plight on social media, which attracted the attention of Nandi Governor Stephen Sang and the public.

A teacher in his home village had posted a video on social media that went viral with Kiprotich’s mother Nelly, crying and appealing for help to bring his ailing son back home.

Governor Sang responded by spending Sh50,000 to buy him an air ticket and pledging to take care of his medical bill, while Nandi Hills MP Alfred Keter promised to help him as soon as he recovers.

Other Kenyans in Qatar bought him crutches to ease his movement and accommodation as he waited for the ticket.

Kiprotich arrived home 10 months since his departure worse off than when he left. He is expected to undergo a hip joint replacement at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, with his bill to be settled by Governor Sang.

He does not want another Kenyan to suffer. He warns those looking for opportunities to be careful with recruitment agencies.

Muriuki, however, distanced her agency from blame, saying they have recruited over 10,000 Kenyans and other foreigners without any problem. “Isaac Kiprotich never reported to us or to the Kenyan embassy in Doha about his tribulations,” she said.