Migrant Workers' Voice, a NGO that assists migrant workers whose rights have been violated in line of duty has petitioned government to have the remains of a migrant worker who died and buried in Saudi Arabia exhumed.
Shadia Najjuko 31, died in June this year and was consequently buried in Saudi Arabia.
The deceased's family, Sarah Nabukeera approached the NGO and through its lawyers of Arthur-Arutha Legal & Co. Advocates, the NGO and Najjuko's family have threatened to seek legal redress in case the Attorney General doesnt prevail over the line ministries and other relevant authorities in 10 days.
According to the petition, the deceased was externalized by ABS Consulting Group Limited, a company duly authorized and licensed by the Ministry of Labour, Gender and Social Development to operate as a housemaid in Riydh for Bajdaa Jaza Qaynan Almutai.
The family also accuses the recruiting agency and the line ministry of failure to make due diligence to ensure that the deceased is protected from violations that later claimed her life and was hurriedly buried in Saudi Arabia.
They say efforts to at least have the body returned home have proved futile.
“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 lawyer.
Murangira reminded the Attorney General that under Article 3 of the agreement executed on December, 27, 2017 between the ministries of gender for Uganda and Saudi Arabia, it enjoins the parties to protect the rights of domestic workers externalized in line with applicable laws.
He also accused the Ministry of Gender for failure to engage their counterparts 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, a position he said lays a firm foundation for demanding of damages.
“The importance 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,” the petition says.
Najjuko is one of the many Ugandans who have in the past lost their lives in the Middle East where they had gone for work.