When employing a nanny becomes one big gamble

Evans Otieno’s two feet became too feeble when he needed them most.
They were shaking and he had to be literally shoved into his bedroom where the bodies of his beloved wife and their three-month-old son lay side by side in a pool of blood.
Blood-stained clothes and bags were scattered all over the bedroom in what indicated a major struggle between the two before Ms Elizabeth Achieng', a community worker, met her death alongside her son Leone Okoth.
The odious crime is suspected to have been committed by Jackline Auma, a once trusted nanny accused of turning into a knife-wielding monster. She has since been arrested in Uganda.
She had lived at the family’s home in Kisumu county’s Muhoroni area at Shauri Yako estate for barely a month. The only identity they had of her was a photo they had taken during a birthday party a month ago.

HIGH-HANDED
The shocking incident shone the limelight on the price some parents pay for having nannies.
It is a gamble mothers have to make because of work obligations and while some families have had a pleasant relationship with their housemaids, living with them for many years until they are part of the family, some cases go terribly wrong.
Hundreds of parents have experienced unbearable circumstances, their children have been hurt, abused or even killed through high-handed acts of the same people who are expected to protect and take care of them.
Actress and radio presenter Jackline Nyaminde alias Wilbroda had an experience a few years ago that she hopes she will forget soonest. She had traveled to Mombasa on a work trip, only to receive a call from a neighbour, who refused to reveal her identity, informing her that her house help was breastfeeding her child. Alarmed, she then took the first flight back to Nairobi and took her child to hospital very late in the night.

GET TESTED
“I could not even hold my baby to the laboratory for a test. My sister did. I did not even have the strength. I cried but my baby was fine,” said Wilbroda in a recent interview adding “Whenever my son cried, she would breastfeed him in front of other house helps to calm him.”
It would later emerge that the house help was HIV-positive, meaning there was a very high risk of spreading the virus to the child. Luckily, the boy was unscathed.
“She was not a lactating mother. She had a four-year-old daughter upcountry,” she said, adding that she fired her the next day.
Wilbroda, who had got the nanny through referral, advised mothers to get tested together with their nannies to get to know their status.
“It is really important to get yourself and nanny tested but you should do it together so that it does not look like you are forcing her or interested in her results,” she said.
One hurdle towards testing househelps is the suspicion wives have of their husbands, which makes men keep off such matters.
Kisumu resident Fredrick Omondi told the that at one time they were preparing to bring a house help, he insisted he wanted someone mature who could take care of the child but the wife took an issue with his choice of words.

CHECKLIST
“What I read from her mind was something else, and she kept on questioning why I needed a mature lady. From that day, I vowed never to comment on anything to do with a househelp,” he says.
He adds: “I have seen many of them come and go but I thank God none of them have harmed my son.”
In contrast, Mr Allan Odhiambo, another Kisumu resident, said he ensures that he knows a number of details of any new house help, even though the vetting is done by the wife.
“I have stayed with my current house help for three years. She is like a family member and my sons love her so much,” said Mr Odhiambo.
So, what should parents look for when hiring a house help?
Ms Trizer Kimani, the managing director of Nani Employee Leasing Company, has a checklist of the details to look out for.

DISCPLINING
Founded in 2008, Ms Kimani’s company focuses on a wide range of both professional and non-professional workers in all sectors including domestic workers (cooks, nannies, gardeners) teachers, waiters, drivers, administration assistants, accountants, factory cleaners. The firm currently manages over 300 staff.
Among things to ask, she said, is the future plans of the nanny and what tasks she can and cannot perform.
Also, Ms Kimani advised, one should ask about the expected salary and how far the nanny can go in disciplining a child.
Ms Kimani said it is important to use referral to get a domestic worker, though it might be easy to vet them properly through a bureau.
“At the bureaus, we also use referral models to source our workers, though there are things we look for and do a thorough scrutiny before they are posted, compared to individuals who are desperately in need and would hurriedly take them in,” she said.

INTIMIDATION
Ms Auma, the Ugandan lady in police custody on suspicion of killing her employer, was never vetted.
“This was a wrong move, before bringing someone into your house and entrusting her with your kids, ensure you know more about them. This will ensure the security of your child,” says Ms Kimani.
Mr Otieno did not do that and the omission haunts him.
“I wish I knew that such a thing would happen to my beloved family,” said Mr Otieno, a 28-year-old clinical officer.
Ms Rehema Ibrahim, the deputy national treasurer at the Union of Kenya Civil Servants, advised parents to hire nannies from bureaus since they have a binding contract. The normal way of hiring and firing, she said, is prone to risks.
Ms Ibrahim noted that some of the things that bring conflict between employers and employees are bad attitude, lack of bonding.
“How do you expect them to give back the love to your child if you don’t love them? You should treat them as one of your own. Due to intimidation, they fight back through harming our children and killing employers,” said Ms Ibrahim.