The Ugandan government has stepped up diplomatic efforts to save a Ugandan domestic worker facing execution in Syria after she was convicted of killing her employer.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Henry Okello Oryem, said Uganda is in direct contact with Syrian authorities and is pushing for the sentence to be halted.
“We have written to them several times. I am hopeful that by the end of this week one of our officials will travel there. I am also trying to speak to the Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs so we can have the execution cancelled,” Oryem said.
The worker, Vicky Ajok, was convicted of murdering her 87-year-old employer, Huda Shaarawi, at the woman’s home in Damascus on January 29.
According to reports, Ajok attacked the elderly woman with a blunt object after alleging that she had been abused and denied her wages. She fled the scene but was later arrested by Syrian security officers.
Uganda is now seeking diplomatic options to save her life as the case draws concern over the safety and treatment of Ugandan migrant workers in the Middle East.
