kemboi

Swahili

Etymology

After Ezekiel Kemboi, a Kenyan runner.[1] Despite Kemboi being a runner, the word is not used for run but to run away from a bad situation.

Verb

-kemboi (infinitive kukemboi)

  1. (Sheng) to run away, flee, escape (from an employer or a bad situation)
    • 2023 October 23, Irene Kinja, “My Boss Kids Used To Insult Me And Beat Me Up, Pritty Vishi's Mom Says”, in Waza News‎ (in English):
      Pritty Vishi's mother shared a heartbreaking account of the severe mistreatment she endured from her employer in Saudi Arabia for over a year before she made the courageous decision to escape which they call "Kukemboi".
    • 2023 February 27, Audrey Travère, “Who are the ‘dalalas’? The middlemen preying on trapped domestic staff in Saudi Arabia”, in The Observers‎ (in English):
      Kemboi can also be used as a verb, meaning to flee one’s employer.


Noun

kemboi (ma class, plural makemboi)

  1. (Sheng) a domestic worker who left their employer and who is now undocumented
    • 2023 February 27, Audrey Travère, “Who are the ‘dalalas’? The middlemen preying on trapped domestic staff in Saudi Arabia”, in The Observers‎ (in English):
      In Kenya, women like them are known as “kembois,” domestic workers who have left their legal employers in the Gulf States and are now undocumented.
    • 2022 April 8, Grace Kerongo, “From Waiguru to Kemboi: Popular slang used by Kenyans in Gulf”, in Mpasho‎ (in English):
      Kemboi - these are Kenyans who decide to run away from their place of employment and break the contract and seek out employment without the agency.
  2. (Sheng, by extension) a person who ran away from a bad situation

Usage notes

The term is particularly used for Kenyan workers escaping bad working conditions or treatment in the Gulf region but it can be used more generally to run away from a bad situation.

The word is not used for running in general.

References
  1. Audrey Travère (2023 February 27) “Who are the ‘dalalas’? The middlemen preying on trapped domestic staff in Saudi Arabia”, in The Observers (in English): “The nickname comes from Kenyan runner Ezekiel Kemboi, winner of the 3000-metre steeplechase at four World Championships and two Olympics.”
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