Africa-Press – Kenya. Kenya has inaugurated the new Consulate General in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The Consulate General, inaugurated by Foreign Affairs PS Korir Sing’oei on Monday, will serve as Kenya’s second diplomatic mission in Saudi Arabia after the embassy in Riyadh.
Aden Mohamed was appointed consul-general in the modern commercial hub based in the western region of the Kingdom.
While the government has framed the move as part of President William Ruto’s strategy to expand Kenya’s diplomatic footprint, it comes against a backdrop of growing public concern over the welfare of domestic workers and cases of human trafficking to Gulf states, especially Saudi Arabia.
The consulate is expected to improve service delivery, consular protection, and engagement with Kenyans living and working, particularly in Mecca, Medina and Jeddah.
Mohamed will also work closely with the embassy in Riyadh and the Ministry of Labour to track recruitment agencies, handle welfare complaints and coordinate with Saudi authorities on repatriations, legal representation, and dispute resolution.
Over the years, reports of abuse, exploitation, and even deaths of Kenyan domestic workers in Saudi Arabia have sparked outrage at home.
Activists and lawmakers have repeatedly called for stronger protection measures and better oversight of labour recruitment agencies.
The National Assembly Departmental Committee on Defence, Intelligence, and Foreign Affairs had, in a report in August 2023, called for the fast-tracking of the establishment of the consulate.
The report on an inspection visit to embassies in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait noted that the distance from Riyadh to Jeddah is about 1,000km, hence serving that crucial area through Riyadh was not feasible.
The report further called for a review of the staff establishment at the embassy in Riyadh by having additional Immigration attachés to address the huge influx of Kenyans either visiting or staying in the country.
It also recommended additional labour attachés to address the huge labour force both existing and expected to enter the country after the conclusion of pending MoUs.
This echoed an earlier parliamentary report tabled in November 2021.
The Senate Labour and Social Welfare Committee—then led by Johnson Sakaja—reported that Kenyans working as domestic workers do not receive consular assistance to protect their rights, partly due to their high numbers and the distance from Jeddah.
“From Riyadh to Jeddah are thousands of kilometres. So, we have said we must have more labour attachés and officers in Jeddah and Riyadh,” Sakaja said at the time.
The consulate will also help facilitate pilgrimage matters for Kenyans who profess the Islamic faith, as the Makkah and Madinah mosques are on that route.
Government data shows that thousands of Kenyans, mostly young women, migrate annually to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries seeking employment as domestic workers, lured by the promise of better pay.
However, many have found themselves trapped in abusive working conditions, with limited legal recourse or diplomatic assistance.
Kenya has over 151,000 documented migrant workers in Saudi Arabia, most of them domestic workers, with some estimates reaching up to 200,000.
Since 2019, at least 234 Kenyans have been formally repatriated from exploitation abroad, including a reported 23 from Saudi Arabia.
A 2025 rights-group report by Amnesty International details the ordeal of Kenyan domestic workers in Saudi Arabia: deceptive recruitment, confiscated documents, unpaid labour and harsh isolation.
Equally, the 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report: Kenya report found that traffickers in the Middle East, especially Saudi Arabia and Lebanon, continue to exploit Kenyan women working in domestic servitude, often subjecting them to severe physical and emotional abuse.
The Labour Ministry, through then CS Florence Bore in August 2023 that between 2020 and 2022, Kenya recorded over 175 deaths of its nationals in Saudi Arabia, many of them domestic workers.
Sing’oei said the new mission is in line with the country’s revised Kenya Foreign Policy and commitment to enhancing service delivery to citizens abroad.
“The Consulate General will complement the work of the Kenya Embassy in Riyadh by extending services to the western region of Saudi Arabia, particularly to the thousands of Kenyan nationals living and working in Jeddah, Makkah, Madinah, and surrounding areas as well as further strengthening bilateral cooperation and create new opportunities for partnership in line with Saudi Vision 2030 and Kenya’s Vision 2030 development agenda,” he said.
Kenya’s new 2024–2027 Strategic Plan for the Jeddah Consulate was also launched.
The plan outlines key goals, including promoting Kenya’s economic interests, improving diaspora engagement and coordinating welfare interventions for Kenyans in distress.
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