A 40-year-old Kenyan domestic worker in Saudi Arabia is facing 100 lashes after being convicted of having sexual relations outside marriage following the birth of her child.
Esther Wanja Muthoni, a mother of five, was sentenced in October 2026 by a criminal court in Riyadh, where she had been living and working before her arrest.
Muthoni gave birth to her son, Abudy, in August 2025 following a brief relationship with an Egyptian man who reportedly left Saudi Arabia before the case went to trial.
Her pregnancy came to her employer’s attention after a supervisor discovered her condition and took her to hospital. Authorities later questioned her about the circumstances surrounding the pregnancy, leading to criminal proceedings.
Speaking to The New York Times in a phone interview, Muthoni expressed fear over the punishment, saying she was unsure whether she could endure it.
“I am so afraid. I don’t think I can endure those lashes,” she said.
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“I don’t deserve this,” she added.
According to The New York Times, Muthoni went through the court proceedings with the assistance of a translator but without legal representation.
Besides the 100 lashes, she was sentenced to one year of banishment. However, rather than appeal the ruling, she reportedly chose not to challenge it, believing an appeal would delay her return to Kenya and her children.
“It is the only way that can take me back home to my children,” she said.
Her efforts to leave Saudi Arabia with her youngest child have also faced complications because Abudy was born outside a recognised marriage, leaving him without the formal birth certificate or passport required for international travel.
Although the Kenyan Embassy reportedly provided departure documents, her pending court case prevented her from travelling, and the documents eventually expired.
It remains unclear when the sentence will be carried out or when Muthoni and her son will be allowed to return to Kenya.