Monday, November 17,
2025 - A report by the New York Times has linked President William
Ruto, First Lady Rachel Ruto, and their daughter, Charlene, to a lucrative but
deeply exploitative industry that sends thousands of Kenyan housemaids to Saudi
Arabia.
Behind the glossy rhetoric of “nation building” and
remittance-driven growth lies a disturbing reality: women exported as cheap
labor, stripped of protections, and subjected to abuse, while the First Family
and political allies reap millions.
The investigation documents harrowing accounts: maids beaten
for minor mistakes, locked indoors, denied food, assaulted, and in some cases
killed.
Passports are routinely confiscated, wages withheld, and
abusers rarely punished.
Yet instead of demanding accountability from Riyadh, Ruto
has pledged to send even more workers, with ambitions of one million annually.
Recruitment agencies, many owned by politicians allied to
Ruto, profit handsomely. Each worker sent abroad earns recruiters about $1,000
(Ksh 129,000), while minimal training costs $200 (Ksh 25,000).
Kenyan maids are marketed as a “low-cost alternative,”
earning $240 (ksh 31,000) a month - far below their Filipino counterparts who
make $400 (Ksh 51,000) and enjoy stronger protections.
The scandal deepens with revelations about Africa Merchant
Assurance, the insurance company tied to the recruitment industry.
Corporate records show First Lady Rachel and Charlene Ruto
as major shareholders.
Recruiters are required to buy policies from such firms to
cover emergencies, yet insiders say Africa Merchant has never paid out a claim
to rescue distressed workers.
Lobbyists allege that the Government steers business towards
the company, enriching the First Family while workers languish in danger
abroad.
Labor Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua, once a critic of
staffing cartels, now blames victims themselves, accusing them of “entitlement”
and dismissing evidence of systemic exploitation.
The New York Times investigation exposes a chilling
contradiction: while the President’s family profits from insurance tied to
recruitment, Kenyan maids continue to face abuse, exploitation, and death in
Saudi households.
The Kenyan DAILY POST
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