At Least 274 Kenyan Migrant Workers Died in Saudi Arabia in 5 Years - US Report

In the report published on Friday, October 9, the US Department of State said that the majority of the fatalities were women.

"In 2025, media reported at least 274 Kenyan migrant workers, mostly women, died in Saudi Arabia in the past five years; at least 55 Kenyan workers died in 2024, twice as many as the previous year," the statement read.

The publication further revealed the stringent contracts that some of the Kenyan domestic workers in Saudi Arabia sign, which expose them to severe physical and emotional abuse.

Reports continue to document traffickers in Saudi Arabia exploiting Kenyan women working in domestic servitude who are often misled by recruitment agencies with deceptive information about wages and sign contracts they are unable to read, before being subjected to severe physical and emotional abuse by employers," the US Department of State wrote.

The report revealed that more than 500,000 Kenyans are currently working in the Middle East, where the majority are domestic workers. 

Notably, most of them get jobs on a visa sponsorship system, which is common in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. This system binds domestic workers to one employer and prevents their freedom of movement.

The findings further established that returning Kenyan migrant workers, people experiencing homelessness, and people with mental health conditions are vulnerable to trafficking due to a lack of available assistance.

They also face limited economic opportunities because returning migrants, including trafficking victims, often face rejection from their communities because of unmet remittance expectations or debt incurred to send them abroad.

According to the report, corruption and complicity in trafficking crimes remained significant concerns inhibiting law enforcement action. For instance, the government has investigated three Ministry of Labour officials for allegedly accepting bribes to facilitate potential trafficking crimes involving migrant workers travelling to the Middle East.

The report added that some government officials in the Kenyan embassy in Saudi Arabia have frustrated efforts of Kenyan workers trying to flee from their rogue employers.

"Media also reported some Kenyan embassy officials in Saudi Arabia reportedly demanded sex or cash payments from women seeking government assistance to escape abusive employers and return to Kenya," the findings read.

The government is accused of not taking action against recruitment agencies reportedly owned by government employees that were allegedly complicit in facilitating trafficking crimes.

Instead, lesser charges, such as failing to register a recruitment company, were frequently levied.

As a preventative measure, the government, in partnership with civil society organisations, held awareness campaigns targeting vulnerable populations, particularly Kenyans seeking to work abroad, and launched a campaign focused on the growing threat of forced labour in online scams.

It also regulated labour recruiters and held them liable for fraudulent recruitment.