Why giving birth outside marriage landed Kenyan mother in trouble with Saudi Arabia authorities

A Saudi court has sentenced a 40-year-old Kenyan domestic worker, Esther Wanja Muthoni, to 100 lashes for engaging in sexual activity outside of marriage. The ruling, handed down in October, followed multiple court hearings in the summer and has left Muthoni anxious about returning to Kenya with her one-year-old son, Abudy. Muthoni, a mother of five, was working as a domestic worker through a Saudi recruitment firm when she became pregnant from a brief relationship with an Egyptian resident.

She gave birth in August 2025 at a staff accommodation, after which she was detained for questioning over the pregnancy. Although she was released from police custody, she was denied access to her housing and a shelter for mothers. Muthoni subsequently lived at a petrol station in Riyadh, a common gathering place for migrant mothers seeking to leave the country with their children.

Despite efforts by her employer and the Kenyan Embassy to facilitate her departure, she remained unable to travel as her criminal case was pending. The court found her guilty of having sex outside marriage and sentenced her to the lashes, as well as a one-year banishment. This has raised concerns about Saudi Arabia's claimed legal and social reforms, particularly following their announcement of restrictions on flogging in 2020.

Labor migration experts have criticized the punishment, stating it violates international human rights standards and strips Muthoni of her dignity rather than protecting a vulnerable woman.