Employment Court Orders Government to Better Protect Kenyans Working in the Middle East

The Employment and Labour Relations Court has ordered the Kenyan government to strengthen protections for citizens working in the Middle East, ruling that state agencies failed to protect migrant workers from abuse and exploitation.

In a judgment delivered on Friday, 3 July, the court introduced new obligations aimed at improving accountability and worker protection. Recruitment agencies must now provide a security bond before sending workers overseas. 

The bond is intended to promote accountability and provide financial protection for Kenyan migrants who face exploitation under foreign employment contracts. The court also directed the Ministry of Labour and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to enforce existing laws governing foreign contracts of service.

The judges found that Kenyan workers in Gulf states have been exposed to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, torture, slavery and servitude. They said the government has a constitutional duty to protect its citizens, including those working outside the country. 

The ruling was based on the Constitution as well as international human rights agreements, including the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The judgment comes as the number of Kenyans seeking work in the Middle East continues to increase. 

Official estimates indicate that between 400,000 and 500,000 Kenyans are currently living in the region. Saudi Arabia alone is home to about 310,000 Kenyan workers employed as domestic workers, drivers, security guards and in other occupations. 

Reports by human rights organisations and international media have documented hundreds of deaths among Kenyan workers in Saudi Arabia in recent years. In many cases, families have challenged official findings that attributed the deaths to natural causes.

Evidence presented to the court included accounts from returning workers who described unpaid wages, confiscated passports, physical abuse and unexplained medical procedures. The petition also alleged that Kenyan embassies and labour attachés did not respond adequately to complaints or investigate reported abuses.

The court agreed, finding that the state had failed to fulfil its responsibility to protect Kenyan citizens working abroad. The ruling follows earlier government efforts to address concerns about the treatment of migrant workers. 

In 2013, Kenya temporarily suspended the migration of domestic workers to the Middle East because of similar reports of abuse. The suspension was later lifted, allowing recruitment to resume without the safeguards now required by the court.

In its decision, the court referred to a judgment by South Africa's Constitutional Court, which stated that governments have a constitutional obligation to take active steps to protect human rights. The decision increases pressure on government agencies to strengthen oversight of recruitment practices and improve protection for Kenyan workers overseas.