Kenyan woman receives 100 lashes in Saudi Arabia
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Tuko
Kenyan Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei reacted to the sentencing of Esther Wanja Muthoni, a Kenyan domestic worker, to 100 lashes and a one-year ban by a Saudi court for having a child outside marriage. He described the sentence as cruel and inhumane under Kenyan law, while saying he respected Saudi judicial sovereignty, according to Tuko.
Kenyan domestic worker Esther Wanja Muthoni was sentenced by a Saudi court to 100 lashes and a one-year ban on staying in the country for giving birth outside marriage, according to Tuko. Kenyan Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei responded on Wednesday 11 November, saying Nairobi intended to continue diplomatic efforts with Saudi Arabia.
Korir Sing’oei described the sentence as cruel and inhumane under Kenyan standards while saying he respected the sovereignty of the Saudi judicial system. His intervention suggests that Kenya favours diplomatic exchanges with Riyadh rather than a public confrontation, according to Tuko.
Esther Wanja Muthoni, the mother of a one-year-old child, has been seeking for more than a year to return to Kenya with her baby. Tuko says she is among the many East African women recruited as domestic workers and nannies in Saudi Arabia.
Human rights organisations have long criticised the sanctions provided for under Saudi law against women who become pregnant outside marriage, particularly in cases involving abuse or exploitation. However, at the time of publication it was not established whether the sentence had been carried out or whether an appeal remained possible, according to Tuko.
