Kenyan woman dies in Canada 5 days after arriving in search of a better life
Delphine Wambui, who tragically died just five days after arriving in Canada.
By Mercy Koskei
What you need to know:
- Delphina Wambui Ngigi sought asylum immediately after landing in Canada.
- She died after hours of waiting in the cold outside a shelter for asylum seekers in Toronto..
A family in Njoro, Nakuru County, is mourning and searching for answers over the mysterious death of their 46-year-old daughter.
Delphina Wambui Ngigi died just five days after arriving in Canada in search of greener pastures.
Wambui had planned to join her sister-in-law, who was supposed to help her find work. Sadly, her dreams were tragically cut short as she waited for her documentation process to be completed.
Susan Nyambura holds a portrait of her daughter Delphina Wambui.
Wambui allegedly died after prolonged exposure to extremely cold temperatures, a Toronto-based woman identified as Teresa Wanjiku said in a video posted on social media.
Wanjiku said: "She had faced many challenges in trying to come to Canada, but she finally managed to fly on Valentine's Day. When she arrived, I asked my friend to go pick her from the airport and bring her to my house because I was busy at work. I wanted her to come to my house for a night so that the following day, I would take her to the shelter,
"She later called me and told me she was told to wait outside in the cold; I told her to wait as instructed. I would not have hosted her because she had to go to a shelter; she had sought asylum in the airport. This means she was a refugee and not a visitor.
"She stayed in line for too long. The following day I checked on her and in our conversation, I told her to ask them if she could take a shower. That was when we talked last. Minutes later, I was informed that she had died."
Wambui's mother, Susan Nyambura, said her first-born daughter moved to Canada in February this year in the hope of providing a better life for her four children following the death of her husband.
Susan Nyambura displays her last WhatsApp conversation with her daughter Delphina Wambui.
Wambui left Kenya in February and her family had been in constant contact with her, even receiving updates on her safe arrival in Toronto, Canada.
She was met by her sister-in-law, who took her to the shelter where she was to stay while she waited for her paperwork to be completed before she could start work.
But the promising journey took a devastating turn. "After days of checking in, she told me that she was at the shelter and that they had not registered her. A day later, she contacted me on WhatsApp and told me that she had been given a Canadian phone number and that she was almost done with the documentation process. I was happy for her," Nyambura recalls.
The last conversation between mother and daughter took place around 9pm on February 18.
Wambui called to check on her children, surprising her mother who was still awake. During the conversation, Wambui reassured her mother that everything was fine and that she was still at the shelter.
According to Nyambura, there were no signs of illness or imminent danger. "We spoke for about 20 minutes before I handed the phone to her younger son who was still awake, then I went to sleep," Nyambura told Nation.Africa in an interview.
Delphina Wambui's relative speaks to the press.
The next morning, Nyambura's family was devastated.
A phone call from a pastor, accompanied by three others, brought the tragic news that Wambui was no more, leaving the family with countless questions about what could have happened in the seven hours since they had last spoken.
Nyambura thought the pastor had come to pray after her daughter had landed safely in Canada.
"Our conversation was all about Wambui, how she had finally achieved her dream. Then he went on to break the news that my Wambui was no more.
"I have so many questions about what happened in the seven hours since we last spoke. My daughter never told me she was ill. Since she was young, she never complained of any complications. There is not a day that she has been admitted to the hospital for any illness," Nyambura said.
Her in-laws, she claimed, neglected her, forcing her to return to Nakuru, where she sought employment as a teacher.
However, she resigned in 2023 to help her mother care for her father, who succumbed to cancer in June, leaving her with a substantial hospital bill.
After her father's funeral, Wambui explored job opportunities and researched prospects in Canada.
The process took time, but she was eventually successful.
"At the moment I have no closure about what really happened to my daughter. We still have so many questions about her death. We do not know the cause of death; they are yet to do an autopsy. She never complained to me that she was sick; I only heard that she developed breathing complications before she collapsed and died.
"It was not easy to fly her to Canada due to financial constraints after her father's illness. They died seven months apart and we're all devastated," she said.
The family is now seeking Sh3 million to facilitate the repatriation of Wambui's body to give her a proper send-off.
"We have so many questions that have not been answered. We are calling on well-wishers to help us bring her body home. We are only getting information through social media; we do not know who to believe. As a family, we would really like to know what really happened so that our hearts can be at peace," Nyambura pleaded.
