Vanice Bosibori, a young woman from Kenya, shared a distressing chapter of her life that unfolded during a short stay in Mombasa. Little did she know that this seemingly innocent period of fun would become the catalyst for a series of events that would significantly impact her future.
What started as a hopeful journey for a better life turned into a nightmare, with Bosibori pointing fingers at a friend in Mombasa for the abrupt disruption of her plans.
Bosibori’s journey took an unexpected turn when she sought refuge with a male friend in Mombasa while waiting for her papers to be processed for a job opportunity in Saudi Arabia. Little did she know that this brief interlude would have a profound impact on her life trajectory.
After spending only a week at her friend’s place, Bosibori received unsettling news about her medical records. Her employer, seemingly unsatisfied with her health status, asked her to undergo medical tests again.
“After one week, I was asked to repeat the medical because they had lost data. I went and repeated. My boss asked me if I had any problems with my liver. I told her I had never had a liver problem. She said my medical records showed I had a liver problem. In the morning, I thought we were going to the hospital, but I found myself in the office, the one that took me to Saudi. They gave me papers to sign. When I signed the papers, my employer paid me in cash, and she left. There was a Ugandan there who understood English, so I asked him what my problem was. Based on what he had heard, he told me I had a problem with my medical,” she said during a interview with TUKO.CO.KE.
Bosibori, perplexed by the sudden turn of events, discovered that there was a discrepancy in her medical records, particularly concerning her liver. The communication barrier added to her confusion, and she initially believed that she was being deported due to Hepatitis C.
It wasn’t until later, back in Kenya, that Bosibori decided to take matters into her own hands. Observing her friend in Mombasa had an abundance of HIV testing kits, she decided to test herself. The results were devastating – all three tests came back positive. This revelation, she believes, was the reason behind her deportation from Saudi Arabia.
The stigma surrounding HIV added layer of complexity to Bosibori’s already challenging situation.
The young woman found herself in denial initially, attributing the positive results to potential errors in the testing kits. However, facing the truth head-on, she acknowledged her HIV-positive status.