Harriet Makena from Meru county sadly reveals how she became a laughing stock in her village after she was deported back to Kenya from the United States with only four blouses.
This was after staying abroad for more than 15 years. It was the most painful moment of her life, she says.
According to Ann, she comes from a polygamous family, whereby her father had two wives and a total of 12 children.
She was the second born in her family, and she only managed to study up to class 8. She dropped out due to a lack of school fees since her parents struggled to meet their needs.
She did ordinary jobs for a living, and after she was all grown, she met a man with who they fell in love, and she decided to get married. Life went on well, and they were blessed with two children. Luckily, her husband got a better job, whereby he used to work at an international company as a sales assistant.
He started travelling all over the world for job meetings. On one of his trips to the USA, he invited her to accompany him, and she agreed. They had only stayed there for a month, and she had made new friends.
When the time came for them to travel back, she urged the husband to let her stay behind, as she saw better opportunities there. The husband agreed to go alone thereafter, she states. After a while, she got a job and sent most of her salary to her husband for investments and also for their children’s needs.
Unfortunately, after staying there for 10 years, the husband informed her that he wants to remarry and that he no longer required her support in raising the kids.
It was heartbreaking, but she had no other option. She decided to build wealth for herself instead, and she bought land which she rented part of it.
However, living in the states for a while, her citizenship had expired, and she hadn’t yet renewed it. The immigration officer came to know about it after one of her tenants was involved in an illegal business, and she was charged with conspiracy.
She stayed in jail for five years and her accounts were frozen.
After completing her term, she was deported back to Kenya for staying in the country illegally.
She borrowed four blouses from a friend since she wasn’t allowed to access her belongings. She came back with nothing after all those years in America.
Upon arrival at home, all the villagers laughed at her to an extent of mocking her. It was the most painful moment of her life, and she finds it hard to recover up to date.
