Kenyan detained in Saudi over trafficking claims returns empty

Six weeks after The Standard highlighted the story of his detention in Saudi Arabia, Peter Kalisto is back in Kenya.

Even after spending seven years in the Middle East, investing in businesses and making good money, Mr Kalisto returned home with nothing.

In his backpack were a few clothes, his mobile phone and travel documents.

“I landed back in my country worse than I left in 2015 because I felt like a criminal released from prison,” he said.

A licensed driver in Saudi Arabia since May 2015, the 43-year-old left his two vehicles and dues from his employer amounting to 15,000 Saudi Riyal (Sh462,000).

“Nobody told me anything. I was driven to the airport on April 23 just a few minutes before the plane took off. In the end I had to accept my fate,” he said.

It took him a week to settle.

The father of six now says he can’t afford the family’s bills. “Since my detention, I could not afford to take care of my family.”

Although he is happy to be free, his is a bitter because of the deportation. “I’m not a criminal but I was treated like one. I was deported without any basis nor explanation despite being there for seven years,” he said.

Mr Kalisto was arrested on June 22, 2020, on allegations of women trafficking and taken to the Immigration Division offices in Riyadh.

He was detained at the Riyadh Deportation Centre on April 19, last year, and was never charged. His detention was raised in Parliament on November 3, last year, with Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja urging the government to help bring him and other detainees back home.

He almost lost hope until his story was published on March 14, making the embassy push for his release.

“Things happened very fast and when my mobile phone was returned I knew I will be released soon. It only took a month after detention for over a year,” he said.