Vanice Bosibori, a young woman hailing from Kisii, unfolded a distressing chapter of her life that transpired during a brief stay in Mombasa. Unbeknownst to her, what initially seemed like an innocent period of enjoyment turned into the catalyst for a series of events that would significantly alter her future.
Bosibori’s journey, initially filled with hope for a better life, took an unexpected turn as she sought refuge with a male friend in Mombasa while awaiting the processing of her papers for a job opportunity in Saudi Arabia. Little did she anticipate that this short interlude would profoundly impact her life trajectory.
After spending just a week at her friend’s residence, Bosibori received unsettling news regarding her medical records. Her prospective employer, dissatisfied with her health status, requested her to undergo medical tests once 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 shared during an interview with TUKO.CO.KE.
Bosibori, bewildered by the sudden turn of events, discovered a discrepancy in her medical records, particularly related to her liver. The language barrier compounded her confusion, leading her to initially believe she was being deported due to Hepatitis C.
It wasn’t until later, back in Kenya, that Bosibori took matters into her own hands. Realizing 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. She believes this revelation was the underlying reason for her deportation from Saudi Arabia.
The stigma surrounding HIV added an additional layer of complexity to Bosibori’s already challenging situation. Initially in denial, she attributed the positive results to potential errors in the testing kits. However, facing the truth head-on, she acknowledged her HIV-positive status.
