- The numbers, according to Mudavadi, could, however, be high noting there is a high movement of Kenyans within the Guff states.
- Mudavadi further disclosed that a total of 316 Kenyans have died working in those Gulf countries since 2002 to date.
Image: PCS
There are more than 400, 000 Kenyans currently working in the Gulf states, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has revealed.
Responding to questions in the Senate plenary Wednesday, Mudavadi said Saudi Arabia accounts for the largest number 310, 266 followed by Qatar with 66, 025.
Iraq has the least number with 150 while in Iran there are 200.
United Arab Emirates has 23,000, Bahrain (8,000), Oman 5,392, Kuwait 3,515.
The numbers, according to Mudavadi, could, however, be high noting there is a high movement of Kenyans within the Gulf states.
The available data, he said, is sourced from Kenyan missions in the particular countries and official sources from in the countries.
“It should be noted that not all Kenyans register with our missions abroad even despite being sensitised on the importance of such registrations hence it is sometimes it is very to have very precise data,” he said.
“So, Madam Speaker, under such circumstances it is not easy at this stage to be able to say that we can avail all the identities of these 416, 548 Kenyans in Gulf states,” he said.
Mudavadi who is also the Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary further disclosed that at least 316 Kenyans have died working in those Gulf countries since 2002 to date.
"The records we have show that the total number of Kenyans who have lost their lives in the Gulf region is 316," he said.
The states include Saudi Arabia with 166 deaths, Qatar 58, United Arab Emirates (UAE) 51, Iraq 25, Bahrain 10, Kuwait 6, while Oman and Iran have zero deaths.
Speaking when she appeared before the Joint Committees on Labour and Diaspora Affairs and Migrant Workers on National Policy on Labour Migration in April, Labour cabinet secretary Florence Bore noted that numerous distress cases are reported by migrant workers in Saudi Arabia.
Bore said workers continue to face numerous challenges among them decent work deficits, inadequate labour migration governance and migrant workers' protection.
“Cases of Kenyan Migrant workers in distress have been on the rise, calling for sustainable solutions which can be achieved through comprehensive policy, legal and institutional reforms,” she said.
She also called for support towards the establishment of additional Labour Attaché Offices in key labour destination countries.