House-help's nightmare: I had to strip naked, act mad to end my misery in Saudi Arabia

Mary Wanjiku speaking at their Murera home in Juja during the interview. Wanjiku said she was forced to strip naked in order to end her misery in Saudi Arabia where she was being jailed

When Mary Wanjiku boarded a Saudi Arabia-bound plane at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) one afternoon, she was hopeful that working abroad would enable her take care of her two sons and five siblings.

But Wanjiku, 37, would get the shock of her life upon landing in the Arabian Kingdom. It was not long before she would regret leaving her homeland that sunny Sunday afternoon in January to what she thought was the promised land. Her misery begun immediately she reported to work. Her employer cut her salary by half from the Sh30,000 a month they had  signed up with the recruitment agent before she left Kenya.  She was also overworked, assaulted, mistreated and denied food.