On Sunday night, police in the Riyadh Region of Saudi Arabia detained a Kenyan woman accused of killing another resident.

Following the incident, seen in an amateur video, the woman, who could only be identified as Ms Mercy alias Saumu, was brought into custody by police officials and then detained.

Maureen is the name of the deceased woman, according to Nairobi News.



The Riyadh Police Region stated that the two disagreed but did not go into further detail.

According to a statement from the police, "security patrols in the Ritadh Region arrested a resident of Kenyan nationality who assaulted another of the same nationality, leading to her death, following a dispute between them."

Kenyans living in Saudi Arabia have condemned the event, which was documented in a viral video.

The footage shows Ms Saumu viciously assaulting Ms Maureen on a busy street. She kicks and steps on the deceased's face before repeatedly slamming her head on the pavement.

The assault continues until passing vehicles approach the scene and halt, at which point the perpetrators leave the area.

The people who recorded the video appear to live in a structure near the paved road and can be heard yelling at the attacker to stop the attack.

Namu wacha! Please Saumu! Saumu!" Several women can be heard sobbing.


According to Saudi Arabian police, the victim died while being treated at a nearby hospital.

The suspect is already charged with murder, which is punishable by the death penalty in Saudi Arabia.

"In Saudi Arabia [and by Daesh], rape, murder, apostasy, sedition, sorcery, armed robbery, adultery, and drug trafficking are all crimes punishable by death. According to Saudi Shariah [Islamic law], some crimes, like planned murder, have set penalties. Still, others, like drug-related offences, are deemed ta'zir, meaning that neither the crime nor the penalty is specified in Islam.