We deserve truth on workers' abuse in Gulf
Editorial
By
Editorial
| Nov 19, 2025
President William Ruto’s administration is in a spot over labour migration that exploits Kenyan workers abroad while enriching powerful entities at home.
A New York Times investigation lays bare a State-enabled exploitation spree in which politicians reportedly own recruitment agencies that dispatch Kenyans to the Persian Gulf as cheap casuals. According to the report, a least one in 10 recruitment agencies is owned by a politician.
Suffice to say, hundreds of Kenyan women have returned from the Middle East with first-hand accounts of physical, verbal and sexual assault, or at worst, death threats. Some have even been killed. They are being subjected to punishing hours, denied off-days and confined to employers’ homes.
In Saudi Arabia where more than 200,000 Kenyans work, the crisis of mothers stranded with undocumented children is widespread. But more disturbing are reports that the government is looking the other way as worker-protection laws are ignored and industry profits given priority.
READ MORE
Museveni's ocean access claim: What international laws say
Acorn eyes Nairobi's young workers with new Sh2.2b housing project
Over 2,000 EPZ workers return to work after union dispute
Why insurers are now betting against the national grid
Regional states advance plan for unified shipping line
Building alliances: Why African countries must invest in each other
Why accountants are concerned over Sh1.7tr unaccounted public expenditure
Statistics agency roots for better usage of data
How new AI systems could unlock opportunities for businesses, economy
Digital taxi drivers win fight for new rates as strike disrupts market
The latest exposé also reveals how officials dish out foreign job slots as political chits for allies to distribute to constituents. While the government routinely touts remittances from Gulf nations as having surpassed tea and coffee earnings, it owes Kenyans an explanation for the lax enforcement of labour-protection standards. We also deserve to know which politicians and well-connected business entities are minting millions from these labour malpractices at the expense of our citizens’ health and dignity.
We must ask the hard questions and demand answers. The conflict of interest where regulators double up as investors in this booming labour trade is glaring. We call on Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi and Labour CS Alfred Mutua to ensure every claim in the New York Times report is investigated and Kenyans duly informed of the outcome.
If the allegations are confirmed, all those implicated must be held to account. In this day and age, human rights must remain sacrosanct. Equally, President Ruto should pronounce himself on the matter. It's a shame to allow Kenyans to be used as pawns in a dirty enterprise of selfish profiteering. The exploitation must stop.