Gov’t under Pressure to Exhume Remains of Ugandan House Maid Illegally Buried in Saudi Arabia

Migrant Workers’ Voice has petitioned the Attorney General over the unclear death and burial of a one Shadia Najjuko 31 who passed on in Saudi Arabia in June 2021.

Migrant Workers’ Voice is a Non-governmental Organisation clothed with a mandate to assist migrant workers whose rights have been violated while in line of duty and was approached by Sarah Nabukeera a mother to the deceased.

Through their lawyers of Arthur-arutha Legal & Co, Advocates the organization together with Najjuko’s family have threatened to go to courts of law to seek legal redress in case the Attorney General doesn’t prevail over the line Ministries and relevant authorities within 10 days.

The late Najjuko was externalized by ABS Consulting Group Ltd a company duly authorized and licensed by the Ministry of Labour, Gender and Social Development to operate as a house maid in Riydh for Bajdaa Jaza Qaynan Almutai.

The family accuses the recruiting agency and the line Ministry for failure to make due diligence to ensure that the late Najjuko would be protected from violations that indeed claimed her life and was hurriedly buried in Saudi Arabia.

“Our client’s efforts to get a post mortem report and retrieve the body of the late have been rendered futile. Indeed, this is buttressed by the report issued by the Ministry of Gender indicating that the government failed to obtain a medical report and death certificate to prove the cause of death and neither has the ministry been provided information pertaining to the place of burial of the remains of the late,” said Arthur Murangira the organisation’s lead Counsel.

Counsel Murangira reminded the Attorney General that under Article 3 of the agreement executed on 27^th December 2017 between the Ministry of Gender in Uganda and the Ministry of Gender in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, enjoins parties to protect the rights of domestic workers externalized in line with applicable laws.

Murangira thus accused the Ministry of Gender for failure to engage her counterpart in Saudi Arabia to provide details about the cause of death of Najjuko, exhume her body and return the same for a decent burial at home which position lays a firm foundation for demanding of damages.

“The import of this letter therefore is to request your good office to advise and engage the line ministry and other relevant authorities to spearhead the process to exhume remains of the late Shadia Najjuko, return the same for a decent burial and compensate the family reasonably for the loss caused failure whereof we shall seek legal redress,” Murangira noted.

Najjuko is one of a number of Ugandans that have lost their lives in the Gulf as they have migrated to look for greener pastures and little has been done for them to attain justice.