Kenya has questioned the punishment awaiting one of its citizens in Saudi Arabia, where a court has sentenced a Kenyan mother of five to 100 lashes and a year of banishment following her conviction over a relationship outside marriage.
Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei has described the sentence as cruel and inhuman by Kenyan standards, while maintaining that the government recognises Saudi Arabia's right to enforce its laws.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Sing’oei said Nairobi would continue engaging its Saudi counterparts on the case, which has raised concerns over the treatment of foreign workers caught up in the kingdom's judicial system.
“Saddened by what would constitute ‘cruel and inhuman’ punishment under our jurisdiction, but respectful of the sovereignty of Saudi legal system. We shall continue to work with our counterparts on these complex arenas of judicial enforcement,” he said.
The case involves Esther Wanja Muthoni, 40, who was found guilty in October by a three-judge panel at a criminal court in Riyadh. Her conviction followed proceedings arising from a pregnancy that culminated in the birth of her son, Abudy, in August 2025.
Muthoni had travelled to Saudi Arabia to earn a living as a domestic worker. However, her stay in the country took a difficult turn after she became pregnant following a relationship with an Egyptian national identified as Mohamud, who was also living in Saudi Arabia.
She came under police investigation after her supervisor found the newborn at the staff accommodation and took her to hospital. Officers questioned her about the pregnancy, while the child's father had reportedly left the kingdom.
Efforts to secure her return to Kenya also ran into difficulties. Although the Kenyan Embassy issued travel documents to enable her to travel home with her son, the pending criminal proceedings meant she could not leave Saudi Arabia.
Muthoni, who has five children in Kenya, attended several court sessions with the help of an interpreter. She told the New York Times that she did not have legal representation throughout the proceedings.
The sentence has left her worried about the physical punishment, with the Kenyan woman admitting that she feared she would not survive the 100 lashes.
“I am so afraid. I don’t think I can endure those lashes,” she told the publication.
Despite her fears, Muthoni said accepting the court's decision might be the only route available to her to return home and reunite with her children.
“It is the only way that can take me back home to my children,” she said.
The court also ordered her to undergo one year of banishment, but uncertainty remains over how that part of the sentence will be enforced. It is not clear whether she will be required to relocate to another Saudi city or whether the order could allow her to return to Kenya.
Her situation has drawn attention to the difficulties experienced by migrant domestic workers in Saudi Arabia, especially women who become pregnant outside marriage and subsequently face legal barriers when trying to leave the country.
A New York Times investigation had previously highlighted the plight of East African women who found themselves unable to return home after giving birth outside marriage in Saudi Arabia.
The investigation documented cases involving women who were detained, struggled to secure birth certificates for their children and received limited support from their countries' diplomatic missions.
Muthoni's conviction has also brought renewed focus to Saudi Arabia's 2020 reforms on flogging. The changes restricted the use of the punishment but preserved exceptions for offences in which corporal punishment is provided for under Islamic law.