Relatives of Namutamba Milly, who passed away from Saudi Arabia where she was working as a housemaid, have appealed to the government to help repatriate her remains so that she can receive a proper and decent burial.
The group, including her daughter, Namale Desire, and her brother in law, Muyingo Charles, revealed that Namutamba was sent to Saudi Arabia by Horeb Services Uganda Ltd on August 19, 2018, to work as a domestic worker. However, after about five months, they lost contact with her without explanation.
The family stated that they confirmed Namutamba’s death in early September 2019 and Horeb Services Uganda Ltd promised to formally inform them of the cause of death, but to date, no update has been provided.
The family’s decision to come forward follows yesterday’s ruling by High Court Judge Boniface Wamala, ordering Horeb Services Uganda Ltd and its Managing Director, Ezra Mugisha, to compensate them 250 million shillings for the loss of their relative.
Their legal team from the Women Probono Initiative, led by Titus Asiimwe also calling for a police investigation into why Namutamba was not connected to any surveillance system that could have monitored her whereabouts
In a groundbreaking decision, The High Court of Uganda on 7th August, 2024 ruled in favour of Ms. Namale Desire, a daughter of a deceased migrant worker to Saudi Arabia, in a landmark case that underscored the critical importance of protecting the right to life of women externalized to work in the Middle East.
Case Background
Ms Namale Desire, a biological daughter of the late Milly Namutamba who died in Saudi Arabia in early 2019 sued HOREB SERVICES UGANDA LIMITED and its Director, Mr. 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 19th August 2018 as a domestic service worker.
At the time of leaving the country, Milly Namutamba was in perfect health and was subjected to a medical check-up by the 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.
Desire 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.
The Ruling
The High Court delivered a historic judgement, declaring that Horeb Services Ltd and its Director violated Ms. Namale Desire’s Mother’s right to life, as enshrined in Uganda’s Article 22 of the Constitution of Uganda.
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 M/S Horeb services Ltd to argue that the responsibility over Namutamba Milly lay against the other stakeholders and not on themselves.
The legal framework clearly indicates that the M/S Horeb services Ltd bore the primary responsibility over the safety and life of the deceased migrant worker. M/S 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 the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The court has declared that the actions and omissions of M/S Horeb services Ltd and its director infringed on Namutamba Milly’s right to life and Ordered that;
The M/S Horeb services Ltd and its director shall pay to the Ms. Namale Desire and her uncle a sum of UGX 200,000,0000/= (Uganda Shillings Two Hundred Million only) as general damages and a sum of UGX 50,000,000/=(Uganda Shillings Fifty Million only) in exemplary damages.
M/S Horeb services Ltd and its director shall pay the taxed costs of the case to the applicants in the case.
