Former Saudi maid fighting for her life

Rashidah Nampijja,21, a former housemaid in Saudi Arabia, is battling for her life in a rented room in Nabuti cell in Mukono Central Division, Mukono Municipality. Nampijja developed serious body complications in Saudi Arabia before she was returned home.

Her family intervened after a short video showing Nampijja in bad shape recorded by a good Samaritan went viral on social media. The video showed Nampijja with cuts on the head and swollen stomach crying in great pain. The person who recorded the video was suspicious that Nampijja could have been a victim of organ theft.

When the video reached her family, they immediately contacted Horeb Services Limited, which recruited her to process her return. Upon her return, Nampijja reunited with her mother, Hajarah Nakanwagi who is currently staying with her in a single rented room in Mukono.

Nakanwagi explains that her daughter left for work in Saudi Arabia in December 2021. She, however, says that she was surprised to see a video circulating on social platforms showing her in bad shape.

Nakanwagi explains that although the recruitment firm worked on the safe return of her daughter, it stopped supporting her treatment yet they still don’t know what she’s suffering from. She explains that upon Nampijja’s return, Horeb Services Limited took her for medical examination at Mulago national referral hospital and concluded that her kidneys were intact despite the huge cut on her stomach.

Nakanwagi says they were never given chance to look at the medical forms. URN visited Nampijja’s home and found her yelling in pain while lying on a mattress inside their tiny rented room. Her four-year-old daughter couldn’t help seeing her mother wreathing in pain while a two-year-old boy who seemed not to understand the situation just looked on.

Although Nampijja tried to recall what happened to her in Saudi Arabia, she has still failed to connect the dots. She recalls losing consciousness in the house where she was working in Dammam City and regained her memory in the hospital to see cuts on her head and the stomach.   

According to Nampijja, she again lost consciousness because of the crying and pain and only regained it at the Dammam Deportation Center where the video detailing her condition was recorded to reach her parents. She finds it hard to eat or drink anything and cries in pain whenever something reaches her stomach. Her family has run out of money to finance her treatment.

Ezra Mugisha, the managing director of Horeb Services, couldn’t be reached for comment. His known cellophane number is off. Nampijja is just one of the many Ugandans who left the country to work abroad and ended up in deep trouble.