Family seeks answers to kin’s death

Leila Omar gave birth to a baby girl while in a coma in a hospital in the French city of Marseille five years ago.

However, the 42-year-old Kenyan never saw her baby — she died a week ago after being in a coma for five years. And now her family in Kenya wants an investigation into the circumstances that led to her death.

Ms Norah Zeinab, 21, Leila’s eldest daughter, told the Sunday Nation foul play is suspected with reports that her mother became unconscious after she was thrown from the second floor of a building where she lived.

Ms Zeinab said her mother, who had previously been in a “rocky relationship”, was then six months pregnant and gave birth to a baby girl while in a coma after being rushed to hospital by a Good Samaritan.

However, the whereabouts of Leila’s other two children — the one born five years ago and another daughter — remain unknown.

DETAINED IN MOTUARY

Things got worse when the body was detained at the mortuary due to unpaid bills of at least Sh40 million, but last Wednesday, the French government waived the debt thanks to appeals from Kenyan’s ambassador to France Ms Salma Ahmed.

“We don’t know the exact date she died, but on January 14 we got a call from the Kenyan embassy (in France) who informed us about the death. I just want to bury my mother. We now need Sh350,000 for air ticket and accommodation for four days,” she said.

Ms Zeinab said the family wants her mother buried in France with two family members seeking assistance to travel for the funeral and also try to locate the two missing children.

“We weighed the cost of bringing the body to Kenya and other options and decided to bury her in France. We also consulted Sheikh Mohammed Dor who advised us to bury her in France. We will seek justice; if anyone was involved in her death they will pay for it,” she added.

Ms Zeinab said her mother went to France eight years ago after divorcing a Frenchman, who was Ms Zeinab’s step-father, while living in Kisauni, Mombasa County.

“My mother divorced and travelled to France. For the period she has been in a coma, there has been no word from France. It was really tramautising because she was all alone. I tried to travel to be beside her but my documentation had issues,” said Ms Zeinab.

She said her mother got French citizenship soon after the divorce, a decision she claimed did not go down well with Leila’s former husband, who also later relocated to the European country with Ms Zeinab’s step-sister.

“I contacted her (step-sister) through Facebook and she told me her dad had warned her against contacting our mother while in hospital,” she added.
Recalling the time she spent with her step-father, mother and siblings, she said: “We lived happily in Kisauni with my step-father who took very good care of me but they always quarrelled a lot with mama. It was a bitter marriage and the divorce affected us.”

Ms Zeinab’s only wish as she appealed for financial assistance to travel to France was to find answers to the questions surrounding her mother’s death and make contact with her missing siblings.

“I want to reunite with my two siblings whom I have never seen and bring them back home,” she said.

Haki Africa’s executive director Hussein Khalid urged the French government to investigate the claims of foul play.Family seeks answers to kin’s death