Alfred Mutua takes action after Kenyans lose Ksh17M in overseas job scam
Employment agencies and individuals linked with swindling Kenyans of millions of their hard-earned money with the promise of jobs abroad have been directed to report to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) or face the law.
In a statement by the Cabinet Secretary for Labour and Social Protection, Alfred Mutua, on Friday, July 18, 2025, the agencies implicated in the scam were mostly unregistered or unauthorised to facilitate job offers.
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“The following companies and individuals who have been named in these complaints are hereby directed to report to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) at the Multi-Agency Taskforce, NSSF Building, Block C, 7th Floor, on or before Monday, July 21, 2025, by 2:00 pm. Failure to appear will result in coercive measures and legal action,” Mutua said.
Multi-agency team
The CS revealed that in the two days of establishing the Labour Mobility Multi-Agency Response Team, they had received 84 formal complaints where Kenyans across 15 counties had lost up to Ksh17 million.
“In the last two days, since the establishment of the Labour Mobility Multi-Agency Response Team, we have received 84 formal complaints from 15 counties across the country. These complaints allege that unsuspecting Kenyans have lost a total of Ksh17.3 million to individuals and entities falsely purporting to offer overseas job opportunities,” Mutua said.
“Worryingly, many of the complainants report that their passports have been unlawfully withheld for over a year, effectively denying them both opportunity and dignity.”
The CS observed that the companies involved in the scam are largely unregistered, unlicensed, deregistered, non-compliant with the labour migration regulations or non-tax compliant.
He equally disclosed that 62 of the 84 companies that people had lodged complaints about were travel companies, which are unauthorised to offer job opportunities.
Withheld passports
“Particularly concerning is that 62 of the companies that complained about majority are travel agencies. Let me be clear: Travel agencies are not licensed to conduct labour recruitment. It is illegal for them to do so without proper accreditation from the Ministry of Labour through the National Employment Authority (NEA),” Mutua stated.
The CS has directed all the companies planning to appear before the multi-agency team at the NSSF headquarters on Monday, July 21, 2025, to bring along all the withheld passports and documents of their would-be clients.
“Let this serve as both a warning to fraudulent actors and a reassurance to genuine job seekers. The Government of Kenya, under the leadership of President William Ruto, remains firmly committed to safe, orderly, legal, and dignified labour migration for all Kenyans. We will not relent until every Kenyan seeking employment abroad is protected, empowered, and respected,” Mutua said.
