A house help in Nairobi’s Embakasi area was fired on the spot after she was caught flogging her employer’s child with an electric cable.
The house help who had been working in the house for two months had reportedly developed some weird behavior that had alarmed her boss.
“She looked depressed and often spent a lot of time alone, either in the kitchen or inside the sitting room,” said the mother of the two-year-old child who identified herself as Catherine.
Referred from the village
The house help was referred to her from the village after a string of bad experiences with city house helps.
“She was referred to me by a distant cousin who resides in Western. I trusted right away because she was from my home village – and even spoke the same language as I do. I had no idea she had psychiatric issues,” noted Catherine who works at a restaurant as a chef.
Catherine has since learned that the house help sh brought from the village had mental issues – which is why she decided to just book her in the next vehicle and send her back to the village to seek help.
“I think she has mental issues. There is now way a sane human being, a woman and a mother for that matter, can flog a child like some wayward dog,” she said.
Abandoned her marriage
She has since learned that the young woman had abandoned her marriage after falling out with her husband of 3 years.
“I called back home to inform them that I was sending her home. On explaining to my sister what had happened, that’s when I was told that she had suffered some form of depression after giving birth to her first child – and had allegedly attempted to hurt her own baby. The baby had to be taken away from her. That happened early last year,” Catherine said.
Catherine’s child sustained deep skin injuries to her bum and had to be taken to the hospital.
The incident highlights the challenges most working Nairobi mothers face when it comes to juggling demanding work and parenting.
Tormented child
Mary Akoth has had to enroll her child to a good daycare/kindergarten school just around her work place after a horrific experience.
“It’s tough, but better than having to return home to a tormented child. It’s expensive and draining for me, but I have learned to juggle,” Akoth told Mwanahabari.co.ke
Parents seeking house help services are often advised to carry out due diligence to ensure the candidates they bring in have a good record and are healthy to do the job.
Tips when hiring a house help
Always ask them why they left their previous job, and be on the lookout for blame games.
Ask them about their homes, parents. Ask them how you can contact any of their relatives in case they fall ill or are in trouble. If possible, obtain the contacts of the relatives. Try and find contacts of their previous employer. Find out if they have any known health complications. Ask if they have been treated in a hospital?
Most importantly, ask them how they will discipline your baby. Also, find out which duties they would prefer not to do. Finally, ask them about their future plans.