From Burundi to Saudi Arabia: The Booming Business of Human Trafficking

In the last few years, at least 17,000 Burundian women have officially set off for Riyadh in search of a better life. Although Burundi and Saudi Arabia signed an agreement in 2021 that is supposed to regulate this activity, female workers from Burundi have often found themselves deprived of all their rights, and this flow of workers has greatly benefited a few unscrupulous agencies and with the benevolence of the Burundian government and some of its apparatchiks.

By Ukweli Coalition Media Hub, Afrique XXI, Africa Uncensored

It is February 2025 in Cibitoke, in north-west Burundi, a provincial town with ochre dirt streets soaked by the rains that come this time of year. Gabriel Nzosaba* tells us the story of his sister, Saidata*, who had left for Saudi Arabia a year earlier for a job as a housekeeper . Saidata would never see Cibitoke again. Four months after her arrival in Riyadh, she died in mysterious circumstances. She was 24 years old. Her brother says that she regularly communicated with her family via various private messaging services. In February 2024, on her arrival, she sent a message in Kirundi: ‘Mie huyu’ (‘I am here’). According to her brother, her final message was received on 8 June 2024, after which the exchanges came to an abrupt halt.

Several corroborating testimonies have enabled the family to reconstruct part of the young woman’s life: Saidata had left her employer, with whom she had fallen out, and she had been picked up by some ‘dalalas’ – a Swahili slang term, widespread among Kenyan domestic workers, referring to ‘disreputable intermediaries’, as explained in an investigation by French media outlet France 24. These dalalas promise foreign workers that they can find them another employer, but often end up exploiting the young women instead. The women often find themselves in a vulnerable situation, and cannot seek remedies or assistance as a result. According to our information, Saidata then lived in a house in Riyadh with other women. This house was also referred to as an ‘office’, implying that the dalalas also use them as a base for their operations.

It was there that she fell ill.

Saidata’s family learned of her death via social networks. They were then put in touch with Joël Ndayisenga, the second counsellor at the Burundian embassy in Saudi Arabia. The family said that he directed them to the Burundian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to repatriate the body, although Ndayisenga denies that. According to Gabriel, repatriating his sister’s body would  cost 17 million Burundi francs (BIF), around €5,000/$5,700, a sum that the young woman’s family did not have. Albert Shingiro, the Burundian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation, convinced Saidata’s father to bury his daughter in Saudi Arabia with the help of Burundian diaspora in the country. The family asked Joël Ndayisenga to send them photos of the funeral. To no avail. The only consolation was that the parents were able to recover her personal affairs.

Alarming reports from the United States

Saidata’s case is far from isolated. For several months, Burundian and international journalists from the investigative platform Ukweli, which specialises in the Great Lakes region, in partnership with Afrique XXI and Africa Uncensored, have been investigating this export of labour to Saudi Arabia.

According to the newspaper Jimbere, 65% of young people in Burundi have no formal employment. This is much higher than the International Labour Organisation’s estimate that 11.2% of young people aged 15-24 are neither in employment, education or training. The ILO uses statistics supplied by governments, which can often underreport such data.

With an average income of around 17 euros, the country is one of the poorest in the world. Under these conditions, the promise of domestic work in Saudi Arabia sounds like paradise. However, the abuses and violence described by the dozen or so witnesses who agreed to confide in us paint a picture of hell on earth. The ramifications of this trafficking, organised from Bujumbura under the cover of a bilateral contract signed with Riyadh, can be traced back to powerful Burundian men who reaped substantial profits without ever being questioned, despite their failure to comply with national regulations, and the flagrant human rights violations. The state, recruitment agencies in Burundi and Saudi Arabia, crooked intermediaries… All are enriching themselves on the backs of these vulnerable workers.

The situation that female Burundian emigrant workers find themselves in, the behaviour of recruitment agencies and the State’s inability to protect its nationals were singled out in a 2023 US government report on human trafficking. ‘Observers noted the government’s failure to ensure that labour recruitment companies did not engage in trafficking,’ the document said.

An MP involved in violence

The report also points out that the government indicated that 676 Burundian women working in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait as domestic workers have received consular support, legal services and repatriation assistance between 2020 and 2022, some of whom are victims of trafficking. However, ‘international organisations have identified 1,409 potential victims of trafficking (…) among female migrant workers returning from abroad during the period under consideration [2022, editor’s note], compared with 1,380 in 2021’. Hundreds, if not thousands, of these workers have been left to fend for themselves — even though the government and its agencies have pocketed tens of millions of dollars, some of which was supposed to be used to help them.

Many of them are afraid to speak out, like Marie*, who is currently working in Riyadh. She was sent by the Eagle Agency for Youth Employment. This company belongs to Jean-Baptiste Nzigamasabo, alias Gihahe, a member of parliament for the ruling party, the Conseil National pour la Défense de la Démocratie-Forces de Défense de la Démocratie (CNDD-FDD), which has just won 100 percent of the seats in the National Assembly following the communal legislative elections on 5 June.

On 20 February 2021, in its weekly report No. 271, the NGO SOS Torture Burundi implicated the MP’s bodyguard in the murder of three teachers in Kabanga, in the north of the country, a week earlier, against a backdrop of political rivalry. Baptiste Nzigamasabo had already been cited by Human Rights Watch in pre-election violence in 2010. He was never convicted. Despite having agreed to testify, Marie eventually declined, stating that it had become dangerous for her and her family.

The recruitment and deployment of Burundian domestic workers to Saudi Arabia is supposed to be governed by an agreement signed between the two countries on 3 October 2021. It stipulates, among other things, that ‘the parties shall set up a mutually acceptable recruitment, deployment and repatriation system for Burundian domestic workers for employment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in accordance with the laws, rules and regulations in force’. In addition, the employment contract must be accepted by the competent authorities of both countries and must be respected by the contracting parties (employer, domestic worker, Saudi recruitment office and Burundian recruitment agency). It is also stipulated that the recruitment agencies in both countries and the employer shall not charge or deduct from the domestic worker’s salary any costs relating to his/her recruitment and deployment.

Workers accused of being “incapable”

Another clause stipulates that the government must ensure the well-being of female workers. The agreement also states that Saudi Arabia will facilitate the rapid settlement of disputes relating to the violation of employment contracts and other cases brought before the competent Saudi authorities or courts. For its part, the Burundian government must provide qualified and ‘medically fit’ domestic workers, in accordance with the requirements of the job specifications, and ensure that future domestic workers are trained in specialised institutes and given an introduction to Saudi customs and traditions. It must also ensure that the terms and conditions of the employment contract are fully understood by the candidate. In the event of a breach of the clauses, repatriation is theoretically the responsibility of Burundi.

Following the signing of this agreement, a large number of labour recruitment agencies were set up. There are currently twenty-seven of them, of which twenty-six are located in Bujumbura and one in Makamba in the south (owned by MP Gihahe). In February, during a presentation of the achievements of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, minister Albert Shingiro announced that the total number of Burundian women working in Saudi Arabia had reached 17,000. The agreement between the two countries was meant to provide better protection for workers, who had left their homes and travelled 5,000 kilometres to a country whose customs and traditions were radically different from their own.

However, the reality is quite different.

At an open day organised at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 7 May 2024, Mertus Ndikumana, president of the Association of Private Recruitment Agencies of Burundi (Oraab), said that around a hundred workers sent to Saudi Arabia had returned, dissatisfied with their work. He says that the recruiting companies respect the law, adding, “If a woman has a problem, it is the duty of the agency that sent her to assist her”.

However, according to a source in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who wished to remain anonymous, more than 500 workers have in fact returned home since the agreement was signed. This source further stated that Burundian recruitment agencies had accused these workers of being “incapable of carrying out their duties”.

Serious injuries and psychological consequences

Ndikumana’s claim is contradicted by Eddy Manirakiza, project manager at the Fédération des Associations Engagées dans le Domaine de l’Enfance au Burundi (Fenadeb), an organisation working to address the issue of human trafficking. “Between October 2023 and January 2025, we received 66 presumed victims of human trafficking,” he explains. “37 were girls who had returned from Saudi Arabia, 8 from Oman, 3 from Kuwait and 3 from Kenya.” According to Manirakiza, the 66 cases identified had all been subjected to various forms of violence that are characteristic of human trafficking, including the use of force, coercion, intimidation or threats.

One such returnee is Amina*, a woman in her forties, who returned from Saudi Arabia in November 2024 due to health problems. She is now suffering from spinal shock, the result of physical violence inflicted by her employer. “My boss was extremely cruel. She always found excuses to hit me. I regret having taken the decision to leave without first seeking advice”, she confides.

Manirakiza points out that the returnees suffered serious injuries, while others bear the psychological scars of their experience, adding that recruitment agencies in Burundi do not monitor the women they have sent abroad, even when they return. What’s more, these women, the vast majority of whom live in extremely precarious conditions in Burundi, are afraid to lodge complaints, as they are often unaware of the terms of their contracts with their employers, as they are primarily drawn by the prospect of improving their situation and that of their families.

A former leader of the Imbonerakure militia turned recruiter

An agency employee who agreed to testify on condition of anonymity offers a different version. “In practice”, he explains, “there are times when the worker is obliged to pay her return ticket herself”. “If she is unable to do so”, he continues, “the agency that recruited her or the Burundian embassy in Saudi Arabia pays for the ticket. But in this case, it’s a long process and the girls can go months without assistance.” Another agency employee who spoke to us explains that when a worker wants to return before two or three years have passed, or because she is unable to do her job, this is a significant financial loss for the agency, which reimburses the Saudi partner agency more than $1,800.

Worryingly, the agent said that there are times when the migrant worker is imprisoned until she pays off the cost of the airfare to send her back.

Bahati* is 28 years old and comes from the north of Burundi. In 2023, a woman from Bujumbura came to her commune to recruit “girls” with passports who wanted to work in Arab countries. This intermediary put her in touch with the Vocational Training and Workforce Placement Company (Société de Formation Professionnelle et de Placement de la Main d’œuvre, SFPPM). According to the official list of state-approved recruitment agencies that Ukweli was able to consult and cross-check, this Bujumbura-based company belongs to Jean-Paul Ndimubandi, the former Secretary General of the ruling party’s Youth League, also known as Imbonerakure. This organisation has been accused of being a militia used for political repression. When contacted, the SFPPM did not respond to our questions.

On 15 May 2023, after a brief training course in housekeeping, Bahati flew to Saudi Arabia from Melchior Ndadaye airport. The very next morning, she took up her post under the orders of her new boss, who had made sure to confiscate her passport. Two months after she was hired, Bahati fell ill and her ordeal began. While doing domestic work, she became dizzy, fell to the floor and lost her sight. Her boss tried to get her treated before taking her back to ‘the office’, a liaison centre where immigrant workers are gathered when they arrive or are awaiting repatriation.

“I spent seven long months locked up, sick and malnourished. During all that time, I wasn’t treated”, Bahati confides. What followed was long struggle for her to return to Burundi. According to Bahati, Jacques Ya’coub Nahayo, Burundi’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, even called Paul Ndimubandi, the head of the SFPPM. On 12 January 2024, Bahati finally landed in Bujumbura. Mr Ndimubandi has not responded to our requests, while Jacques Ya’coub Nahayo redirected us to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (see box).

“Suicide out of desperation”

Several other young women described extremely harsh living conditions in these offices. One of them recalls, still shocked:

In the morning, we were given bread and tea. In the evening, they brought us rice and cabbage to cook. But sometimes we’d go two or three days without supplies, and therefore without eating. Sometimes we had to bang on the door to get food. One Kenyan woman even committed suicide out of desperation.

When she returned, Bahati was taken in by her family for treatment. In all, she received 700 Riyals (162 euros) for one month’s work, the salary she was told she would be paid before she left and the only detail of her contract that she knew. She was never given a copy of her contract. Since her return, she has heard nothing more about the SFPPM. In 2023, Jean Bosco Bizuru, one of the SFPPM’s agents, stated that he would ensure that the “rights [of those recruited] were respected”.

According to Bahati, she spent seven months locked up in this office because neither of the two recruitment agencies, Saudi or Burundian, was willing to pay for her plane ticket. Other women interviewed as part of this investigation have described similar experiences.

In a response to senators following the signing of the bilateral agreement in October 2021, Foreign Affairs Minister Albert Shingiro reassured that “(…) [the] international conventions and [the] national laws of many countries require that all costs related to the recruitment of migrant workers be paid by their employers. To this end, regulating and controlling recruitment costs means taking measures to prohibit the charging of recruitment and related fees to workers and jobseekers.”

Medical examination and bribe paid by recruited worker

In April 2022, during the examination of a bill to validate the agreement between Burundi and Saudi Arabia, the then Minister of the Interior, Gervais Ndirakobuca, indicated that the contract should make it possible to “put an end to speculation by bogus commission agents who were asking for application and travel fees [from recruits] when these were being paid by their employers”. Not everyone was convinced by these speeches. Euphrasie Mutezinka, a member of parliament from the opposition National Congress for Freedom party, points out that many elected representatives did not vote in favour of the bill, precisely because of the loopholes in the protection of workers. In her view, “if female workers are mistreated, the recruitment agencies should be held responsible.”

Does this ‘promised land’ at least benefit the workers? Contracts are for a renewable period of two years. One of the agency employees we had spoken to, and who we have quoted above, explains that the salary depends on the Saudi agency that submitted the offer — generally between 800 and 900 Riyals (185 to 209 euros, US$210-240)). For those who have already worked in countries such as Iran, Kuwait, Jordan or Oman, their salary varies between 1,000 Riyals and 1,200 Riyals (US$270-320).

Cynthia* has been in Saudi Arabia for five months. “As an orphan, it was a godsend for me to be able to earn money abroad and provide for my brothers and sisters. I didn’t hesitate for a second”, the 22-year-old says. She currently earns 800 Riyal a month (185 euro, US$210). Francine*, 35, married with two children, left in June 2024. She earns the same salary as her compatriot. However, she feels that this is not enough.

Contrary to the Burundian government’s statement, both Cynthia and Francine  claim to have spent a lot of money to leave Burundi. “The passport, criminal record check, medical examinations, visa and training fees cost me more than BIF 1 million (290 euro, US$335),” says Cynthia. The agency only paid for the plane ticket. In addition to these charges, Francine says she had to pay a bribe: “I paid around 2 million BIF to an agency employee to get on the list.”

When asked how much the Saudi agencies pay their Burundian counterparts for each recruit, our anonymous agency employee interviewed above declines to give a figure, saying, “That’s a professional secret”. When interviewed in April 2023, Ramadan Mugabo, Director of Operations at the Al-Harmain recruitment agency, confided that each worker sent earned him “1,400 dollars” (1,211 euros). According to him, this sum is insufficient to cover all the costs, including the cost of the plane ticket, care during training, bank charges and so on. He continues, “After all the expenses, the agency is left with a maximum of 30 dollars per person recruited. But if we recruit a lot of workers, we can earn a lot.”

Tens of millions of dollars earned

Another former employee of a recruitment agency agreed to speak out a bit more. The Saudi agencies paid the Burundian agencies between 1,500 and 2,000 dollars per recruit. At this rate, Burundian companies would have earned between $25.5 million and $34 million for the 17,000 female workers sent to Saudi Arabia as announced by the Minister of Foreign Affairs. “The agencies are making a lot of money at the expense of these workers. That’s why these companies hide the contracts they sign with their counterparts in Saudi Arabia”, Pascal concedes when confronted with these figures.

The investigation also uncovered a few details about the employment agencies in Saudi Arabia, which are also making money off Burundian workers. The Safwat Al-Nokhba agency, for example, charges 13,400 Riyals (3,100 euro) per worker placed. Makin charges 10,400 Riyals, while Mithaq Al-Madine charges its clients 12,000 Riyals.

The Burundian government is not to be outdone. In a memo dated 8 August 2022, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation details the criteria for awarding a recruitment agency licence. The agency must pay a deposit of 50 million BIF to the Bank of the Republic of Burundi (BRB), which was meant to serve as compensation for any harm suffered by Burundian migrant workers. If the application was approved, the recruitment agency would have to pay 100 million BIF into the public treasury account opened at the BRB. The licence certificate is valid for two years, renewable on further payment of 50 million BIF.

And that’s not all. Before the departure of each migrant worker abroad, an identification form is collected by the agency from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This form is obtained after submission of a dossier consisting of an extract from the criminal record, the employment contract, the visa, the plane ticket, a medical document and a payment slip for 100,000 BIF. In his aforementioned statement of achievements presented in February, Albert Shingiro proudly announced: “Burundi has already collected just over 10 million dollars and 10 billion BIF. Saudi Arabia has accepted [to welcome] 75,000 migrant workers over the next five years.”

Perhaps this money could have enabled Saidata to see her village again, rather than end up buried alone and far from home.

*Some names have been changed to protect the identities of those we spoke to.

BEHIND THE SCENES

• When contacted, Burundi’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Jacques Ya’coub Nahayo, and his 2nd adviser, Joël Ndayisenga, referred us to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. However, the Ministry never replied despite several attempts to reach its spokesperson.
• Jean-Paul Ndimubandi of the SFPPM was contacted several times, to no avail.
• The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Foreign Affairs was contacted through the telephone numbers and e-mail addresses on the official website, but did not respond.
• We also tried to contact the spokesperson for the ruling CNDD-FDD party and MP Gihahe, as well as the Burundian ministry of internal affairs through the numbers and e-mail addresses found on the government website, without success.

This investigation was conducted over several months by the Ukweli Coalition Media Hub, in partnership with Afrique XXI and Africa Uncensored