More than 350 Kenyans who left the country last week with valid Saudi Arabian work visas are back at home with no jobs, after the Kingdom's Ebola travel restrictions saw them refused entry and stranded for days in the United Arab Emirates. Their return has turned a diplomatic row into a household crisis for families who borrowed heavily to get them abroad, and on Tuesday the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention threw its weight behind Nairobi, calling the Saudi measures unjustified.

The group, which departed on October 30, was held up at Sharjah Airport for about four days before being put on a flight home. It landed at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport at about 1.30pm on Monday, according to The Eastleigh Voice and The Standard, which both spoke to the returnees.

'One meal a day, sleeping on the floor'

Returnee Mary Njau told The Eastleigh Voice that the group had travelled "with hopes but ended up being treated badly". Workers described getting a single meal a day, sleeping on cold airport floors and, in some cases, losing luggage. Another returnee, Kanyi Njau, told The Standard: "We were treated so harshly as though we had leprosy."

Many of those on the flight said they had sold land or household goods, or taken loans from shylocks, to pay recruitment agents and travel costs. Their immediate fear is that their visas will lapse before the standoff is resolved.

What Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have done

Riyadh announced the restrictions on October 30 through the Saudi Press Agency. They suspend travel by Saudi citizens to Kenya, halt the issuance of all visa categories to travellers from Kenya and bar entry to anyone who has been in Kenya, or any other country with an active Ebola outbreak, in the 21 days before arrival, even if they transit through a third country. Kuwait has imposed a similar 21-day rule and told airlines to deny boarding to passengers who do not meet it.

The Association of Skilled Migrant Agencies of Kenya says about 2,200 workers had already been processed for Gulf jobs when the ban landed, and about 150 were still in transit on Monday. Chairman Francis Wahome said recruiters had "not received any formal communication from the government", while secretary general Monica Mwema said agencies had been "caught off guard" and wanted clarity on the 21-day rule. Government figures put the number of Kenyans working in Saudi Arabia, the country's largest labour export market, at more than 350,000.

Nairobi opens talks, Africa CDC weighs in

On Monday, the Foreign Affairs ministry's director general for political affairs, Ambassador Josephat Maikara, met Saudi Ambassador Saad Abdullah Al Nofaia and Kuwait's charge d'affaires, Sami Talal Alenezi, in Nairobi. Maikara said Kenya had complied with World Health Organisation guidelines and recorded no new infection since October 19. The envoys agreed to relay Kenya's concerns to their capitals and to arrange technical meetings between their health authorities and the Ministry of Health.

In a statement from Addis Ababa on Tuesday, Africa CDC director general Dr Jean Kaseya said Kenya's nine confirmed Bundibugyo cases, including two deaths, were all linked to a single imported infection, with no evidence of community spread. "We must not punish transparency or turn public health emergencies into barriers between nations," he said, urging Saudi Arabia to engage Kenya, Africa CDC and the WHO and lift the broad restrictions while keeping proportionate screening in place.

For the workers waiting at home, the clock is the problem. They want the government to act before their visas expire.

Photos: Stafford Ondego/The Standard (returnees at JKIA); Ministry of Foreign Affairs via The Eastleigh Voice (Nairobi talks with Saudi and Kuwaiti envoys). Thumbnail design: HAMASTA MEDIA.