Jobs abroad: Senate Labour Committee flags surge in recruitment scams, complaints

The Senate Labour and Social Welfare Committee has raised serious concerns over the growing number of complaints from Kenyans who continue to suffer at the hands of dishonest recruitment agencies while seeking jobs abroad.

The committee questioned why the National Employment Authority (NEA) has failed to deregister rogue agencies despite numerous reports of fraud and delays.

Nominated Senator Crystal Asige, who chairs the committee, heard from several job seekers who had applied for employment opportunities in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and other Middle Eastern countries but are still waiting months after paying large sums of money.

Many accused recruitment firms of poor communication, prolonged delays, and refusal to refund fees paid for jobs that never materialised.

Among those who spoke was Belinda Ouma, who said she gave Vintmak Recruitment Agency Sh100,000 last year but has neither travelled nor been reimbursed.

“Before they could process my documents, I was told to deposit Sh100,000, which I did. I have waited for over eight months, but nothing has happened. When I went back to demand a refund, the officials vanished,” she said.

Alex Ogutu’s experience with Global Face Recruitment Agency was no better. Through a representative, he said he paid Sh56,000 only to be told later that he was too old to qualify for the job in Qatar.

“Alex paid Sh56,000 for processing and was later told he couldn’t travel because of his age. But why didn’t they flag this issue at the beginning during payment and documentation? We’ve been following up since February with no results,” the representative said.

Senators Stewart Madzayo, Miraj Abdullahi, and Beth Syengo strongly condemned the agency’s failure to refund Ogutu and called for immediate restitution.

“If the officials of Face Global are present, they must commit to refunding not just Alex’s money, but also that of other victims who are not here today,” Madzayo said.

Festus Omwamba, director of Global Face Human Resource Limited, acknowledged the payment by Ogutu and promised to refund him.

He defended the agency’s overall record, stating they have successfully sent hundreds of job seekers abroad and currently owe refunds to only 26 clients.

“We have consistently sent job seekers abroad. Currently, only 26 clients are pending refunds. We undertake to refund Alex and the rest within one month,” Omwamba said.

Senator Asige ordered the agency to process Ogutu’s refund immediately and to provide the committee with a complete list of clients showing who has been refunded and who is still waiting.

“Face Global must submit the names of all job seekers they dealt with, indicating payments and refunds. They must also give a clear timeline for completing all pending refunds,” she said.

The committee also heard troubling news from Nasra Ibrahim, director of Mallow Smarthighers Limited, who admitted her agency had been sending workers to Iraq despite Kenya not having a Bilateral Labour Agreement (BLA) with the country.

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This came after testimony from Francis Muchoki, a jobseeker from Murang’a, who said he had applied for a job in Qatar but was later informed he would be sent to Iraq under unclear terms.

The session exposed serious gaps in regulation and enforcement in Kenya’s overseas job recruitment sector, highlighting the urgent need for stronger oversight to protect vulnerable job seekers from fraud and exploitation.