Namale, a biological daughter of the late Milly Namutamba who died in Saudi Arabia in early 2019, sued Horeb Services Uganda Limited and its director, Ezra Mugisha, for violating the right to life of her mother whilst in Saudi Arabia. Desire told court that her mother was taken to work in Saudi Arabia by Horeb Services Uganda Ltd on August 19, 2018, as a domestic service worker.
At the time of leaving the country, Namutamba was in perfect health and was subjected to a medical check-up by Horeb Services Uganda Limited. While her mother was in Saudi Arabia, they kept in constant communication for about five months before she unceremoniously went silent.
After one month of no communication, she got worried and contacted her relatives, including the director of Horeb, who advised her to go to their offices to raise the matter. She stated that she kept frequenting their company for two years seeking to know what had happened to her mother but the company was non-responsive. Later on in September, 2022, her uncle, through sources unknown to her, discovered that her mother had died.
THE RULING
Namale and her uncle approached Horeb Services Uganda Limited’s offices and on this occasion, the respondents confirmed the death of her mother and promised to formally update them on the cause of death, which they never did.
In the October 7 ruling, High court declared that Horeb Services Ltd and its director violated Namale’s right to life, as enshrined in Article 22 of the Constitution. The court held that a licensed recruitment company is obligated to assume full and complete responsibility for all acts of its officials, employees and representatives done in connection with recruitment and placement.
That being the case, it is wrong on the part of Horeb Services Ltd to argue that the responsibility over Namutamba lay against the other stakeholders and, not on themselves.
The legal framework clearly indicates that the Horeb Services Ltd bore the primary responsibility over the safety and life of the deceased migrant worker. Horeb Services Ltd was also the entity vested with locus to enforce against any breach of the agreed terms against either the foreign recruitment agency or Saudi Arabia.
The court has declared that the actions and omissions of Horeb Services Ltd and its director infringed on Namutamba’s right to life and ordered that the company and its director shall pay to Namale and her uncle a sum of Shs 200m as general damages and a sum of Shs 50m in exemplary damages.
Horeb Services Ltd and its director shall pay the taxed costs of the case to the applicants in the case. Namale’s lawyer Titus Asiimwe from the Women’s Probono Initiative hailed the decision as landmark ruling.
“This ruling sends a powerful message; human life is invaluable and labour recruitment and externalisation companies which do not accept and take responsibility over migrant workers they export to the Middle East will not be tolerated,” he said.
On her part, Namale said the victory is a testament to the resilience of survivors and the power of justice.
“We appreciate the High court for honouring our call to end impunity among labour recruiters who do not acknowledge the pain and suffering of relatives of women who die in Saudi Arabia,” he said.
This decision sets a crucial precedent that labour recruiting agencies have responsibility to protect rights of migrant workers to the Middle East as espoused in Ugandan laws. It also highlights the importance of holding perpetrators of human rights violations accountable and ensures that justice for survivors and relatives of deceased migrant workers is achieved.
inarticle} inarticle}