Lying low, fear and regret… Janet Mbugua recounts living like a kangaroo in South Africa after her work permit expired

Janet Mbugua experienced firsthand the horror of living in a foreign country when she relocated to South Africa after securing a job with eNews Africa in 2009.

Janet quit her job at KTN to join eTV in Johannesburg as a news anchor. The process of applying for work permit in South Africa made her to be frustrated and disappointed.

The process dragged and even the input of her employer to try assist her get the permit turned futile. She almost gave up but eventually she was given one year work permit.

“Some insight into how the process of acquiring my work permit was supposed to go: The company that was hiring me in South Africa, eNews Africa under eTV, was to send me an offer letter to sign. They did. It’s the document before the contract, which I could only be given once I had the work permit in my hand. The company was also supposed to send the High Commission a letter of motivation to ascertain that they indeed wanted to hire me. They did. The High Commission officials in Nairobi were then supposed to process my papers, send them to Home Affairs in Johannesburg and I was meant to receive my permit shortly after. Two weeks tops, I was told. Easy enough, yes? Er, no. eTV tried everything, they couldn’t understand why nothing was moving and they needed me on that end asap! I was beginning to think I wouldn’t see an end in sight to this issue,” Janet Mbugua wrote in part.

Janet’s life as an alien in South Africa was full of frustrations – especially when her one year permit expired. She was forced to live like a kangaroo hopping from one office to another in a bid to renew the permit.

The situation was so bad that Janet withdrew from people and even avoided conducting banking transactions or anything that required her passport so that South African immigration couldn’t detect the discrepancy with her permit.

“It was during those dark moments that I began to second guess my decision to move countries. The job was great though; I got on really well with my bosses and colleagues, plus I’d found a haven in my one bedroom apartment which was in a great neighborhood not too far from work. Everything else was great except the status of my permit. I would withdraw from people and couldn’t do much because if I attempted to make any banking transactions or anything that required my passport, the system would pick that there was a discrepancy with my permit. I wallowed, I was upset, I was homesick,”

Even after she managed to secure a five year work permit, Janet still didn’t have peace. She eventually decided to quit her job and return to Kenya.

Janet reached out to Royal Media’s Chief Operating Officer Farida Karoney who gave her a job on Citizen TV in 2011.

“Something inside me had shifted; I was tired, disappointed, embarrassed, frustrated…I was jaded. It all just seemed too little too late. Shortly after, I handed in my resignation. I was longing to return home, where I would never need to chase permits. Where I would belong and build myself. My bosses were understanding about it all.

“While I knew I would miss some of the amazing people I’d met while at work in SA, I needed to do this for me. The 2013 Kenya elections were on my mind and I figured it was best to make a move early, and it was a smart move because shortly after returning home in July of 2011, I would seek out Farida again and ask to join Royal Media Services. In hindsight, I had learned myself more, become a more resilient individual and made a mark as the first Kenyan Anchor on e News Africa. I was beginning to appreciate the dark moments, albeit over time.

“In November that year, I debuted on the Citizen Live at 9 alongside Hussein Mohammed, and there began another chapter in my life…”