Ex-MP wife not yet traced after tragedy

Former Likoni MP Khalif Mwavumo at his home in Kizingo on September 28, 2015. Mwavumo has yet to receive official communication on the whereabouts of his wife, who was among the Kenyan pilgrims to Mecca. PHOTO | LABAN WALLOGA | NATION MEDIA GROUP 

In Summary

• At least 769 pilgrims, including three Kenyans, died while 805 others were injured in a stampede.
• Last week, Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho said the Kenyan ambassador and other officials in Riyadh were closely monitoring the situation.

By MOHAMED AHMED
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Former Likoni MP Khalif Mwavumo has yet to receive official communication on the whereabouts of his wife, who was among the Kenyan pilgrims to Mecca.

However, Mr Mwavumo is hopeful that Zeinab Mwavumo, 58, is safe.

An official from Al Buraq Hajj and Umrah travel agency has been to several hospitals in Riyadh in search of Zeinab and this is giving her family hope that she will return home.

“We have received information that she was seen in one of the ambulances and the agent has been looking for her. He called us on Saturday, at 3am, after viewing at least 502 bodies in the morgues of several hospitals and she was not there. That is what is giving us hope,” Mr Mwavumo told the Nation at his home in Kizingo, Mombasa.

Mr Mwavumo’s daughter, Halima, said she last spoke to her mother a day before she went to Mina, where pilgrims perform a ritual called “stoning of the devil”. At least 769 pilgrims, including three Kenyans, died while 805 others were injured in a stampede.

“He friends said they could not trace her and were unable to communicate because she had left her phone in the tent where they slept,” Ms Halima said, adding they were happy that the agent was helping them trace her.

She said the agent, whom she identified only as Mr Ahmed, had assured them that he would continue searching for her in other hospitals where many other injured people were taken.

“We know we are not the only ones affected by this tragedy. Several countries have lost many of their citizens. Therefore, we do not feel alone in this because we know God is on our side,” Ms Halima Mwavumo added.

Last week, Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho said the Kenyan ambassador and other officials in Riyadh were closely monitoring the situation.

The dead from a number of countries, include 169 Iranians, 87 Moroccans, 55 Egyptians, 54 Nigerians, and 45 Indians, according to the Saudi authorities.