A Kenyan woman who travelled to Saudi Arabia to work as a domestic worker is facing 100 lashes after a court convicted her of having sex outside marriage, leaving her trapped in the kingdom with her one-year-old son despite repeated attempts to return home.
Esther Wanja Muthoni, 40, has spent more than a year trying to secure permission to leave Saudi Arabia with her child, Abudy, but the criminal proceedings against her stood in the way. The sentence, handed down by a three-judge panel in Riyadh last month, has dealt another blow to her efforts to reunite with her family in Kenya.
Muthoni, a mother of five, travelled to Saudi Arabia as part of the thousands of East African women recruited to work as housekeepers and nannies. Her circumstances changed after she became pregnant following a brief relationship with an Egyptian man identified as Mohamud, who was also living in the kingdom.
She was legally employed through Maharah Human Resources, a Saudi recruitment company, when she gave birth in August 2025 at staff accommodation.
Her supervisor discovered the newborn and took her to hospital, where police officers detained her for questioning over the pregnancy. According to statements she gave investigators, the child's father had already left Saudi Arabia.
Although she was later released, Muthoni was barred from returning to her staff accommodation and could not secure a place at a shelter. She also struggled to obtain assistance from the Kenyan Embassy, leaving her without a clear way out of the situation.
She eventually sought refuge at a petrol station that had become a gathering point for migrant mothers, many of whom were hoping to secure deportation alongside their children.
Her circumstances changed last year when Maharah arranged accommodation for her, while the Kenyan Embassy issued documents that would allow her and her son to travel home. However, the documents could not resolve her situation because the criminal case against her was still active, preventing her departure.
Several court hearings followed last summer before a three-judge panel at a criminal court in Riyadh. Muthoni said she was given an interpreter to help her follow the proceedings but did not have a lawyer to represent her.
While Saudi criminal law provides state-funded legal representation for defendants who cannot afford lawyers, experts say the provision is not consistently applied, including in cases involving serious penalties.
The court eventually convicted Muthoni in October of having sex before marriage and imposed 100 lashes. The judges relied on an interpretation of Islamic law that provides for the punishment under a verse in the Quran.
The judgment, however, did not indicate that any legal action had been taken against the child's father.
Muthoni has expressed fear about the punishment, describing the prospect of being flogged as something she may not be able to withstand.
'I am so afraid,' Ms. Muthoni, 40, told the newspaper in a phone interview last month. 'I don’t think I can endure those lashes.'
She also questioned the decision to punish her, saying: 'I don’t deserve this,'
Her case has drawn attention to the difficulties experienced by unmarried migrant mothers in Saudi Arabia, where pregnancy outside marriage can expose women to prosecution, detention and prolonged separation from their home countries.
A New York Times investigation previously found that some East African women who give birth outside marriage become caught up in complicated legal and administrative procedures. Their children can also struggle to obtain birth certificates, while mothers seeking assistance from their countries' diplomatic missions have reported being ignored, insulted or asked for sexual favours in exchange for help.
The investigation also cited widespread concerns over the safety of Kenyan women employed in the kingdom, including reports of rape, beatings and deaths.
Ekaterina Porras Sivolobova, a labour migration analyst and founder of the nonprofit Do Bold, criticised the punishment, saying it violated international human rights standards.
'This sentence of flogging does not align with international human rights standards,' she told the New York Times.
She added: 'It strips a mother of her dignity and does the opposite of protecting vulnerable women. It targets them.'
The ruling has also raised questions about the extent of Saudi Arabia's reforms to its justice system, particularly its decision to restrict flogging in 2020.
At the time, state-owned media described the changes as a landmark move, creating the impression that the punishment had been abolished. However, the reforms left an exception for offences where flogging is prescribed under Islamic law, including sex outside marriage.
The continued use of the punishment is difficult to establish because Saudi courts do not routinely publish judgments involving morality offences.
Muthoni did not appeal her conviction, having gone through the proceedings without legal representation. She believes accepting the punishment could offer her the only chance of returning to Kenya.
'It is the only way that can take me back home to my children,' she said.
When the sentence will be carried out remains unclear. Her travel documents issued by the Kenyan Embassy have also expired, raising further questions about how she and her son will eventually leave the kingdom.
Beyond the 100 lashes, the court imposed an additional one-year banishment sentence.
Under Saudi law, a person sentenced to banishment without a specified destination is generally transferred to another city within the country. However, courts can reconsider such orders in cases involving women who have no male relatives to accompany them.
It remains unclear whether the provision could allow Muthoni to return to Kenya or whether she will be required to spend the banishment period in another Saudi city.