A disturbing pattern is emerging as more and more Kenyan families receive news of loved ones dying while working in Saudi Arabia. In the last five years alone, at least 274 Kenyan migrant workers—most of them young women employed in domestic roles—have lost their lives in the Gulf nation under murky and often suspicious circumstances.
Despite holding non-hazardous jobs as housekeepers and nannies, these workers have not been spared from a tide of abuse, exploitation, and, in many tragic cases, death. A recent investigation by The New York Times paints a harrowing picture, not just of isolated incidents but of a deeply entrenched system that appears to leave African domestic workers vulnerable at every turn.
Each year, thousands of women from Kenya and Uganda travel to Saudi Arabia in search of better economic prospects. But what many find instead are nightmarish conditions: withheld wages, imprisonment, starvation, physical and sexual abuse—and for some, death. And when the worst happens, it is not uncommon for Saudi authorities to label the cause of death as “natural,” even when autopsy findings point to foul play.
In one especially chilling case, Kenyan housekeeper Eunice Achieng called her family in 2022 and told them her employer had threatened to kill her and dispose of her body in a water tank. Days later, she was discovered dead—floating in that very tank. The local police concluded it was a natural death.
Similar tragedies have been reported among Ugandan workers, though Uganda’s government has not released any official statistics. One such victim, Aisha Meeme, bore evidence of serious abuse when her body was examined—bruises, broken ribs, and burns from what appeared to be electric shocks. Yet again, Saudi officials declared the death as due to natural causes.
Some, like Faridah Nassanga, survive—but carry deep scars. Faridah was raped by her employer’s husband in Saudi Arabia. When she became pregnant, her employers simply booked her a flight back to Uganda. She is now seeking justice and compensation, though few mechanisms exist to support victims like her.
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The New York Times spoke with over 90 individuals, including survivors and bereaved families. Their testimonies revealed a network of complicity—staffing agencies owned or backed by powerful elites in both Kenya and Uganda, as well as Saudi Arabia. Among the named are Saudi royals, former ministers, and officials from the kingdom’s human rights commission and investment ministry. In Kenya and Uganda, politicians and their relatives were also found to have stakes in these recruitment firms.
While some nations have negotiated binding agreements with Saudi Arabia to enforce labor protections and fair wage standards, Kenya and Uganda appear to have lagged behind. This absence of strong bilateral protections leaves migrant workers exposed, with little recourse when things go wrong.
In response to growing criticism, a spokesperson for Kenya’s presidency said efforts were underway to crack down on unlicensed recruiters and improve safeguards for citizens abroad. Saudi Arabia’s labor ministry, for its part, insisted that “any form of exploitation or abuse of domestic workers is entirely unacceptable,” and said all allegations were subject to investigation.
But for many, those words ring hollow. For the families burying daughters and sisters who left full of hope, justice remains elusive. Their grief now stands as a grim testament to a system that seems more invested in profit than in protection.
As the stories of the dead and the violated continue to surface, they raise uncomfortable questions: Who is accountable? How many more must suffer before real change comes? And why are the lives of African women treated as disposable in the very places they go seeking opportunity?
