Three individuals were arrested in Eldoret, Kenya, in connection with a fraudulent recruitment program that promised young people lucrative jobs in Dubai. The suspects allegedly transported dozens of youths from rural Uasin Gishu areas, including Ziwa, to Eldoret, where they claimed to have job opportunities in Dubai.
The Uasin Gishu DCI boss, Daniel Muleli, explained that the youths were first taken to a hotel and later moved to a private location near the Annex area. This raised suspicions among the group, who had been given recruitment forms to fill out. Upon reaching the new location, the youths became even more concerned, prompting an alert to the authorities.
Police responded quickly and arrested three suspects, one of whom claimed to be the CEO of a registered recruitment agency licensed by the National Employment Agency (NEA). However, this agency was only authorized to operate in Nairobi, not Eldoret, making their actions suspicious.
Muleli stated that the arrested individuals would provide further details on their recruitment operations. The scam raised concerns in the region, where many have fallen victim to fraudulent recruitment agencies promising jobs and education opportunities abroad, often losing large sums of money in the process.
Some of the affected youth, including Japheth Kipngetich, Job Kipkosgey, and Aaron Kiplimo, shared their experiences. They explained that they had been promised jobs with salaries ranging from Sh38,000 for unskilled labor to over Sh60,000 for skilled workers. They were also told that all processing fees would be covered, but later, officials demanded payment before proceeding with the recruitment.
The recruitment forms given to the youth were partly written in Chinese, allegedly linked to a Chinese company. Muleli assured that a full investigation would be conducted to uncover the truth and determine the next steps for the victims involved in the scam.