Saudi court sentences woman to 100 lashes over extramarital sex
The court also imposed a year of banishment after judges applied Islamic law to a case that has left her struggling to return to Kenya with her son.
- A Saudi Arabian court sentenced Esther Wanja Muthoni, a 40-year-old Kenyan domestic worker, to 100 lashes for having sex outside marriage after she gave birth to a child in the kingdom.
- Muthoni was working legally through Maharah Human Resources when she became pregnant following a relationship with an Egyptian resident identified as Mohamud, who later left Saudi Arabia.
- Denied access to staff accommodation and shelters after police release, Muthoni has been living at a petrol station in Riyadh. She told the newspaper last month she fears the punishment.
- The New York Times reported on Tuesday that Muthoni has been trying for over a year to return to Kenya with her one-year-old son but legal proceedings have prevented her departure.
- In October, a three-judge panel found Muthoni guilty and issued the sentence, which is a punishment prescribed under the court's interpretation of Islamic law according to court documents.
53 Articles
53 Articles
Why a Kenyan mother has been sentenced to 100 lashes in Saudi Arabia
A 40-year-old Kenyan domestic worker, Esther Wanja Muthoni, has been sentenced to 100 lashes and a year of banishment in Saudi Arabia after giving birth to a son outside marriage. She was prosecuted after hospital staff reported her childbirth to the authorities and attended court hearings without a lawyer. The ruling has drawn criticism from human rights groups and renewed scrutiny of Saudi Arabia's reforms on flogging
Human rights organizations condemn decision against Kenyan migrant worker, calling it an act of violence
Saudi Arabia's judicial system is notorious, and according to a report, a woman from Kenya is now experiencing this. A child after an affair becomes a disaster for her, the judges impose a draconian penalty.
The Independent
The Independent (US)Mother sentenced to 100 lashes in Saudi Arabia for giving birth outside of marriage
Esther Wanja Muthoni, a Kenyan national, was employed as a housekeeper for a family
A court in Saudi Arabia sentenced a domestic worker (40) from Kenya to 100 lashes. The woman gave birth to an extramarital child in the summer of 2025, according to media reports, in October.
According to a report, a Kenyan domestic worker gave birth to a son in a labour camp in the summer of 2025.
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