Jane Wambui Mburu left her job in Saudi Arabia permanently in December 2022.
She knew she was coming home to a peaceful retirement, with the money she had sent to her 25-year-old daughter from the Middle East.
Mrs Mburu had been toiling hard and saving for, 9 years in Saudi Arabia.
Hottensia Wambui, her daughter, had assured her mother that the savings totalling around 2 million she had been sending were safe. Mrs Mburu trusted her daughter and had no reason to worry about the money.
When she left the country for work in the Middle East, the 42-year-old single mom left her daughter and younger son alone. She rented them a house in Kiambu town where they have been staying for almost a decade.
While working in Saudi Arabia, the 25-year-old daughter, Hottensia, got pregnant and gave birth to a son. The caring mother agreed to help take care of Hottensia’s son and even pay for private school like her son.
After nine gruelling years and the desire to retire and live a quiet life, Jane Wambui left her job in Saudi Arabia. After all, she had accumulated sufficient monies in ‘retirement savings’ “safely” kept by her trusted daughter in Kenya.
Jane Wambui arrived in Kenya and got the shock of a lifetime.
“She kept assuring me that the money was very safe in her account, almost Sh. 2 million. When I came back in December, I realized she looked very worried and disturbed,”
the distraught mother said.
The ugly truth of her daughter’s extravagant and expensive lifestyle courtesy of her retirement savings came to light. Hottensia had been using the money to treat her friends and lots of partying.
READ: Kamene Goro set to leave Kiss FM
to live the life of the party, Hottensiaalso even bought herself a brand-new Mazda Demio.
She put in a deposit of Sh. 500,000 and signed documents that tied her to monthly deposits of Sh. 62,500. She registered the car as a cab and gave it to a driver.
“Three months down the line she only received Sh. 10,000 from the driver. The driver told her business is slow,”
said the disappointed Jane Wambui.
Jane Wambui goes on to narrate how Hottensia’s boyfriend advised her to take the car from the driver and park it. She followed his advice and eventually the car was repossessed.
She was told that in order to get the car back, she would have to part with Sh. 380,000. With all the money squandered, the tables turned and now she couldn’t afford to pay.
What worries the mother more is the fact that schools are set to reopen, yet she doesn’t have a job, she has no money left, and there is no school fees money to send the children back to school.
“I had planned to start a business here in Kiambu and also pay for school for my children, but as we speak even money to buy food is a problem,”
she complained.
She notes that Hottensia Wambui has been asking her for forgiveness but she angrily rejects and scorns at her.
She says that forgiveness does not negate the fact that all her energy and sacrifices in Saudi Arabia have gone with the wind.
“I will never forgive her unless she returns that money. I’ve really struggled for it for many years,”
she said.
