Many people around the world, including families in Kenya who have loved ones living or working in Saudi Arabia, are now deeply worried about the rising use of the death penalty.
Official information shows that most of the people executed in 2025 were convicted under the kingdom’s strict “war on drugs.”
Saudi authorities restarted the use of the death penalty for drug‑related offenses in 2022 after a pause of several years.
In 2025 alone, at least 243 people were executed for drug crimes, according to tallies from news agencies.
These executions partially explain why the total number is so high. In 2024, Saudi Arabia executed 338 people, which was itself a record at the time.
The 2025 total now stands above that number and is the highest since records have been published.
Human rights groups and critics around the world have raised concerns about these developments.
They say that many of those executed were foreign nationals, including people from countries across Africa and Asia, and that legal protections may not always be fair or transparent.
Families often find out about executions only after they happen, leaving them in shock and fear.
For Kenyans with relatives in Saudi Arabia, the situation has become especially alarming. Many Kenyan workers abroad send money home and support their families.
The news of record executions has caused widespread anxiety and concern, as families fear that someone they know could be caught up in tough drug laws or legal systems that operate very differently from Kenya’s.
Saudi officials defend the use of the death penalty as a way to keep the country safe and to reduce serious crime, saying that all cases go through the legal process first.
But rights advocates argue that international standards for fair trials are not always met, especially for non‑citizens.
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