The Kenyan government has responded after a Saudi Arabian court sentenced a Kenyan domestic worker to 100 lashes and one year of banishment for having sexual relations outside marriage following the birth of her child.
Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei addressed the matter on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, saying Kenya would continue engaging Saudi Arabia over the case while acknowledging the severity of the punishment.
In a statement shared on X, Sing’oei described the sentence as something that would constitute cruel and inhuman punishment under Kenyan jurisdiction, although he also acknowledged Saudi Arabia’s judicial sovereignty.
“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 stated.
Sing’oei was responding to a report by New York Times journalist Abdi Latif Dahir, which brought attention to the plight of the Kenyan woman, identified as Esther Wanja Muthoni.
Muthoni, a 40 year old mother of five, was convicted by a criminal court in Riyadh in October 2026 after giving birth to a son, Abudy, in August 2025.
She had travelled to Saudi Arabia legally to work as a domestic worker and nanny through Maharah Human Resources, a Saudi recruitment company.
While working in the kingdom, she entered a brief relationship with an Egyptian man who reportedly left the country before she gave birth.
A supervisor later discovered Muthoni and her newborn in staff accommodation and took them to hospital, where police detained her for questioning.
She subsequently faced court proceedings over sexual relations outside marriage. According to reports, she attended several hearings before a three judge panel without legal representation, despite being entitled to state sponsored legal assistance under Saudi law. She had access to a court translator.
The court eventually handed her 100 lashes and one year of banishment.
Muthoni has reportedly spent more than a year trying to return to Kenya with her youngest child but has encountered difficulties because of the ongoing legal proceedings.
After initially being released by police, she was reportedly denied access to her staff accommodation and turned away from a shelter, forcing her to seek temporary refuge at a petrol station in Riyadh.
Her employer later arranged accommodation, while the Kenyan Embassy issued departure documents for her and the child. However, the pending court case prevented her from leaving Saudi Arabia, and the documents have since expired.
Muthoni also chose not to appeal the court’s decision, explaining that challenging the ruling would further delay her return to Kenya.
“It is the only way that can take me back home to my children,” she reportedly told The New York Times.
The Kenyan government’s response has raised questions about the next steps in securing Muthoni’s return and addressing the sentence through diplomatic channels.
However, it remains unclear when the 100 lashes will be administered, whether the one year banishment will result in her return to Kenya, or what specific intervention Nairobi will pursue.
Kenya has previously intervened in cases involving citizens facing severe punishments abroad, including Margaret Nduta in Vietnam and Stephen Munyakho in Saudi Arabia.
In Munyakho’s case, diplomatic negotiations with the victim’s family resulted in a KSh 129 million blood money settlement, eventually paving the way for his clemency and return to Kenya in July 2025.
For Muthoni, attention now turns to whether diplomatic engagement between Nairobi and Riyadh will help resolve her situation and enable her to return home with her young son.