Esther Wanja Muthoni, a 40-year-old Kenyan domestic worker, remains stranded in Saudi Arabia with her infant son after a Riyadh court sentenced her to 100 lashes and a one-year banishment for giving birth outside marriage.
Although the Kenyan Embassy issued travel documents to allow Muthoni to return home, the ongoing criminal proceedings blocked her departure. Those exit papers have since expired, leaving the mother of five without a clear timeline for when the sentence will be carried out or when she will be permitted to leave the kingdom.
Muthoni, who was legally recruited to work as a housekeeper and nanny, gave birth to her son at her staff accommodation in August 2025 following a brief relationship with an Egyptian man. A supervisor discovered her and the newborn and took them to a hospital, where staff followed state rules requiring medical facilities to report unmarried mothers to police.
Officers detained Muthoni for questioning, and she told investigators the child's father had already left Saudi Arabia. The court's ruling gave no indication that authorities investigated the man or pursued charges against him, a disparity that has drawn sharp criticism in Kenya and among rights advocates.
Human rights groups have condemned the punishment as an "act of violence" and argued that Saudi Arabia's enforcement of laws against sex outside marriage disproportionately targets women.…
