Amnesty International has released a damning report detailing the abuse and exploitation of Kenyan domestic workers in Saudi Arabia, documenting over 70 cases of deception, forced labor, and inhumane working conditions.

Many workers were misled by recruitment agents, promised jobs in beauty and hospitality, but instead forced into domestic servitude. Bigeni Maina Mwangi, one of the survivors, shared:

“The contract I signed in Nairobi was changed the moment I landed. The agent said I had no choice but to work.”

Mwangi worked 17 months without pay, only to be sent home empty-handed. After a brief attempt at finding a better job in Dubai, she returned to Oman in 2020, where her conditions worsened.

The report urges Kenyan and Saudi authorities to implement labor protections, prosecute abusive employers, and ban exploitative recruitment agencies.

Another survivor, Mejuma Shaban Ali, described her ordeal as “a prison”, recounting how she escaped her employer’s house disguised as taking out trash, only to be denied assistance by the embassy and forced into illegal labor.

More than 150,000 Kenyans work as domestic workers in Saudi Arabia, often subjected to extreme conditions. Amnesty Kenya’s Executive Director Irungu Houghton called the system “modern slavery”, demanding urgent policy reforms and stronger embassy intervention.

In recent months, Kenya’s government has cracked down on rogue recruitment agencies, repatriating over 100 workers stranded in Myanmar and Thailand. However, activists warn that deeper structural protections are needed to prevent further abuses.

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