Esther Wanja Muthoni faces a sentence of 100 lashes in Saudi Arabia.
Esther Wanja Muthoni fears the punishment as legal and travel hurdles prevent her return to Kenya with her youngest child.
A Kenyan woman sentenced to 100 lashes in Saudi Arabia faces punishment for sexual relations outside marriage following her son’s birth. Esther Wanja Muthoni, 40, worked as a domestic worker in Riyadh before her arrest.
A criminal court in the Saudi capital sentenced the mother of five in October 2026. The court also imposed one year of banishment.
Muthoni gave birth to her son, Abudy, in August 2025 after a brief relationship with an Egyptian man. He reportedly left Saudi Arabia before the trial.
Her employer learned of the pregnancy after a supervisor discovered her condition and took her to hospital. Authorities later questioned Muthoni about the pregnancy, leading to criminal proceedings.
During the proceedings, a translator assisted her, but she had no lawyer. Muthoni has expressed fear about the punishment and doubts about whether she could endure the lashes.
Kenyan woman sentenced as return home faces hurdles
Despite the sentence, Muthoni reportedly chose not to appeal because she believed a challenge would delay her return home. She wants to reunite with her children in Kenya and saw accepting the ruling as her route back.
However, her efforts to travel with Abudy have faced a separate documentation hurdle. Because he was born outside a recognised marriage, he lacks a formal birth certificate or passport for international travel.
The Kenyan Embassy reportedly provided departure documents to help them leave Saudi Arabia. However, the pending court case prevented Muthoni from travelling, and those documents eventually expired.
Muthoni therefore faces both the court punishment and obstacles to leaving with her youngest child. Her wish remains to return to Kenya and reunite with her other children.
