Damages win after Ugandan dies in Saudi Arabia

The family of an Ugandan woman who died and was secretly buried in Saudi Arabia where she worked as a domestic worker has been awarded Shs250m (about $6 800) in damages. The Monitor reports that High Court Justice Boniface Wamala directed Horeb Services Uganda – a labour export firm – and its managing director Ezra Mugisha to compensate the family of the late Milly Namutamba, and meet the legal costs of the trial. Wamala said the company’s failure to inform the family about Namutamba’s passing could not go unpunished. ‘Having found that the respondents committed a violation of the late Milly Namutamba’s right to life, it follows that the applicants are entitled to damages owing to the wrongful acts of the respondents. The applicants showed in evidence that they suffered from mental anguish, inconveniences, grief and pain while trying to find out the whereabouts of the deceased. They further suffered mental and psychological pain upon learning that their family member had fallen sick, died, and was buried in Saudi Arabia, without the consent or consultation with the family members in Uganda.’

With growing concerns about the welfare of Ugandans sent abroad to work as domestic workers, the ruling is expected to force labour-exporting companies to show a higher duty of care over their recruits, The Monitor notes. Court documents show that the late Namutamba left the country for Saudi Arabia in August 2018. In an affidavit submitted to the court, her daughter said her mother was in good health, which was confirmed by a medical check-up conducted by Horeb Services. They kept in constant communication for about five months until Namutamba suddenly went quiet. The court found Horeb – and its counterpart recruiting firm in Saudi Arabia, Al Manasa – responsible for the events that led to the loss of Namutamba’s life. The judge further held that other workers exported by the companies had also been treated poorly and controls designed to improve oversight and accountability had been bypassed. ‘As I have indicated, the decision, act or omission by the respondents to operate off the Saudi tracking system was a grave flaw on the part of the respondents. Evidence has shown that the same did not happen only in regard to Milly Namutamba but for all the migrant workers that had been externalised by the first respondent in collaboration with the Al Manasa Saudi recruitment agency.’

Full report in The Monitor