At least 274 Kenyan migrant workers, most of them women, died in Saudi Arabia over five years, with dozens of deaths recorded in 2024 alone.
According to the United States Department of State’s 2026 Trafficking in Persons Report, media reports showed that at least 55 Kenyan workers died in Saudi Arabia in 2024, up from 27 deaths recorded in 2023.
The report raises concerns about the safety of Kenyans seeking employment abroad, particularly women recruited for domestic work who may face deceptive recruitment practices, abusive employers and restrictions on their freedom of movement.
“Reports continue to document traffickers in Saudi Arabia exploiting Kenyan women working in domestic servitude who are often misled by recruitment agencies with deceptive information about wages and sign contracts they are unable to read, before being subjected to severe physical and emotional abuse by employers,” states the US report.
Kenyan Workers Face Abuse in Saudi Arabia
Kenyan women recruited for domestic work in Saudi Arabia are sometimes misled about their wages and working conditions by recruitment agencies, according to the report.
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According to the report, some workers travel abroad after signing employment contracts they cannot read, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation. The report also says that visa sponsorship systems can limit workers’ ability to leave abusive employers because their residency status is tied to their jobs.
“Reports continue to document traffickers in Saudi Arabia exploiting Kenyan women working in domestic servitude,” the report states.
It adds that some women are deceived by recruitment agencies about their wages before facing severe physical and emotional abuse from employers.
Government estimates cited in the assessment indicate that more than 500,000 Kenyans work in the Middle East, many as domestic workers.
US Report Links Kenyan Officials to Recruitment Agencies
The report raises concerns about possible conflicts of interest involving public officials and private employment agencies that recruit Kenyans for overseas jobs.
Media reports cited in the assessment indicated that more than 10 per cent of Kenyan government officials held ownership interests in private employment agencies, including firms sending migrant workers to Saudi Arabia. The report warns that such interests could create conflicts of interest in the regulation and oversight of recruitment.
The assessment also notes investigations into three Ministry of Labor officials accused of accepting bribes to aid the suspected trafficking of migrant workers bound for the Middle East.
It further cites allegations that criminal syndicates colluded with law enforcement and immigration personnel at border checkpoints and airports to move trafficking victims into and within Kenya.
The report also notes that some Kenyan embassy officials in Saudi Arabia were reportedly accused of demanding sex or cash from women seeking government assistance to escape abusive employers and return home.
Despite these concerns, the government did not report acting against recruitment agencies reportedly owned by government employees and allegedly involved in trafficking. The report says authorities frequently pursued lesser offences, such as failure to register a recruitment company.
“Corruption and official complicity in trafficking crimes remained significant concerns,” the report states, noting that these issues hindered law enforcement action during the reporting period.
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Recruitment Fees Leave Workers Vulnerable
Kenyans seeking overseas employment still face recruitment fees and indirect costs, despite regulations that prohibit agencies from charging workers such fees, the report says.
Observers reported that many workers still incurred expenses to secure jobs abroad, leaving some in debt before they began earning an income. Such financial pressure can make it harder for workers to leave abusive employment or challenge employers who withhold wages.
The report says the National Employment Authority oversees more than 500 licensed recruitment agencies, although officials acknowledged that proxy ownership of agencies remained common.
Authorities also said they reviewed recruitment firms for possible criminal links and are working with the National Employment Authority on 13 ongoing investigations into Kenyan agencies linked to 19 foreign recruitment agents in Burma.
The assessment also says Kenyans are exploited abroad in agriculture, fishing, manual labour, and online scam operations. Some recruiters use false job advertisements and promises of high-paying employment to lure workers into exploitative conditions.
Returning migrants may face further difficulties after coming home. The report says some experience rejection from their communities because they cannot meet expectations to send money home or repay debts incurred to secure overseas employment.
Kenya Faces Gaps in Trafficking Victim Protection
The report says the Kenyan government identified 271 trafficking victims and 1,021 potential trafficking victims during the reporting period, compared with 195 identified victims in the previous period. Of the identified victims, 260 were victims of forced labour and 11 were victims of sex trafficking.
Authorities partnered with non-governmental organisations to provide services to 483 victims, an increase from 321 in the previous reporting period. The government also referred 44 victims to services, compared with none in the previous year.
However, the report says protection services for adult victims remained limited, with particularly few shelter options available for men. Male victims were sometimes referred to homeless shelters or left without shelter, while civil society organisations reported inadequate government support for returning migrants requiring emergency assistance.
Authorities investigated 43 human trafficking cases in 2025, up from 42 cases in 2024. However, prosecutions dropped from 44 cases to 14, while convictions under Kenya’s anti-trafficking law fell from 21 to six during the same period.
The six convicted traffickers received prison sentences ranging from 10 to 30 years, according to the report. Two sex traffickers were sentenced to 30 years, three received 20-year sentences and one labour trafficker was sentenced to 10 years.
The assessment also notes that a proposed amendment to the Counter-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2010, intended to remove the option of imposing a fine instead of imprisonment for sex trafficking, had not been approved for the fifth consecutive reporting period.
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