Urgent Action Needed to Protect Kenyan Domestic Workers in the Gulf, Say Rights Groups

Human rights groups have sounded the alarm that not enough has been done to tackle the alleged mistreatment of domestic workers in Gulf nations after the Kenyan government moved in speed to secure employment opportunities for its citizens overseas.

No recent available data on Kenyan migrant worker fatalities exist, however, the nation's foreign ministry declares that at least 89 Kenyans, mostly domestic workers, died in Saudi Arabia from 2020 to 2021. Kituo cha Sheria and another rights association, Hakijamii, are supporting legal action against the Kenyan government, claiming that it has failed to take proper measures to protect Kenyan workers in gulf from "contemporary slavery and human trafficking".

In the suit, which was submitted in early February, the workers allege that the Kenyan government has overlooked the pressing need to investigate many instances of deaths and abuse. The Kenyan government will be required to present its response in the upcoming few months. 

Saudi Arabia is a major source of remittances to Kenya. Migrant workers in the Middle East country supposedly sent about £237 million to their families in Kenya last year. Kenyan President William Ruto has put the issue of providing more employment opportunities, both domestically and abroad, at the forefront of his political agenda. He recently announced plans to sign several bilateral agreements, including with Germany, to give Kenyans the chance to work further afield in Europe, North America and the Middle East.

The inclusion of Saudi Arabia in this list, however, has been met with protests from rights groups who are worried that the mistreatment of domestic workers in the Gulf country has not been sufficiently addressed. In response, the organisation has launched a lawsuit asking for the immediate suspension of all labour migration to the Middle East until the government meets certain criteria and reparations for those who have suffered.