Diaspora nightmare for Kenyan woman clobbered with hammer
Elizabeth Kogo, 37, counts herself lucky to be alive to tell her story of surviving a horrific hammer attack by her fiancé during her 29th birthday.
For her, January 23 each year has special significance in her life, as it is her birthday. And since childhood, it had become a tradition to mark it with pomp and style.
That included merrymaking and getting together with friends wherever she was, and more so having migrated to the US, away from home in Ndaptabwa village, Nandi county.
To celebrate the day, her workmates at Wichita had organised a get-together party for her, unaware of the strained relationship the young family was living in.
Her boyfriend Gideon Maiyo had felt insecure and started battering Kogo on flimsy grounds, in an attempt to take control of the ever-ambitious woman.
Maiyo had qualified as a certified nurse aid and worked in a nursing home, while Kogo worked at a facility housing people with various physical and mental problems.
Kogo had fallen in love with Maiyo three months after landing in the US. They started dating, which subsequently led to them living together.
They had been introduced to Maiyo by “a mutual friend” in Germany. Kogo would not like to mention his name, as they originate from the same county and community, Nandi.
‘PERFECT PARTNER’
Kogo saw a perfect partner in her man “from home”, hoping she had someone who would understand her, as they came from the same rural area in Kenya.
Their rural homes are about 30km apart from each other, hence the confidence and trust she had. Maiyo came from Nandi Hills, while her home is in Ndaptabwa-Kosirai. She was convinced Maiyo was the perfect choice and a Godsend.
Kogo was 10 months old in the US and wanted to mark her 29th birthday for the first time since migrating to Wichita city in Kansas State to join Maiyo.
She had landed at the St Paul Minneapolis Airport, Minnesota, from Cologne, Germany, after winning a diversity visa lottery (Green Card) in 2010, accompanied by her son from a previous interracial relationship, Florian.
She was received by her village mate John Paul Rono before getting in touch with Gideon Maiyo, who had been in the US for many years and had met her via social media after introduction.
Since it’s a five-hour drive from Minnesota to Kansas, Kogo felt it was better for her to move into Maiyo’s apartment at the 8100 block of East Harry, Wichita. They were required to sign on the lease document to bind them on rent and security matters.
“We lived as a couple in the apartment, and we showed determination to formalise our relationship by his parents going to our home for negotiation,” Kogo said.
Under the Green Card regulations, winners are eligible to work and permanently live in the US, enjoying most of the benefits other citizens get.
For Maiyo, who had lived in the US for many years without proper immigration documents, the arrival of Kogo into his life was an opportunity for him to be naturalised.
As the months ticked by, Kogo became more aggressive in life, working long hours and making more money and more importantly, becoming financially independent.
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