Kenya, Saudi Arabia to meet over mistreatment of workers

By Andrew Wasike

NAIROBI, Kenya (AA) - Kenya announced Thursday it has taken steps to ensure the protection of its citizens is guaranteed after numerous cases of mistreatment, injuries and death of Kenyan workers in Saudi Arabia.

Labor and Social Protection Minister Simon Chelugui said officials will travel to Saudi Arabia after both sides agreed to meet to solve the issue affecting the two friendly nations.

“We want to go to Saudi Arabia and meet their officials and find a solution to this problem which has been a major concern in the government,” he said. “We want to manage immigration of Kenyans seeking employment out of the country so that Kenyans going to work in other countries are safe there.”

Chelugui hailed employment ties signed between Kenya and Qatar that ensured the protection of Kenyan immigrants seeking work there are protected by Kenyan labor laws.

The visit to Saudi Arabia comes as the Kenyan Foreign Affairs Ministry urged last month that travel to Saudi Arabia be temporarily banned because of increasing cases of abuse of Kenyans in the Kingdom.

Principal Secretary Ambassador Macharia Kamau urged the Labor and Social Welfare Parliamentary Committee to institute the ban to safeguard Kenyans who are being mistreated in Saudi Arabia.

“It warrants bold and decisive action to curb further suffering of Kenyan domestic workers in Saudi Arabia,” he said. “It should not be seen to be condoning such high number of deaths and distress of citizens’ majority of whom are young and vulnerable women.”

According to a report by the Kenyan Labor Ministry, 93 Kenyan migrant workers were killed in Gulf countries since January 2019. The number hurt and injured while working in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates is in the hundreds.

Kenyan rights groups have been vocal in pressuring the government to return the bodies of Kenyans killed in Gulf countries.​​​​​​​