Labour Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua with Attorney General Dorcas Oduor, DCI boss Mohamed Amin and other senior officials during a meeting on July 18, 2025/COURTESY A total of 84 complaints from across 15 counties have been filed just two days after the government officially launched a crackdown on rogue job agents and fake overseas recruiters.
Labour Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua, in a statement, revealed that the cases involve Kenyans who were conned out of a combined Sh17.3 million by individuals and companies falsely claiming to offer job opportunities abroad.
Many of the victims also reported that their passports had been unlawfully withheld, in some cases for over a year, effectively stalling their travel and violating their rights.
"These complaints are largely against entities that are either unlicensed, unregistered, deregistered, or non-compliant with labour migration laws," Mutua said.
Shockingly, 62 of the companies mentioned are travel agencies, which have no legal mandate to recruit for foreign employment, he said.
Travel agencies, according to the CS, 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)," he stated.
Mutua disclosed that all companies and individuals named in the complaints have now been summoned to appear before the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) at the Multi-Agency Taskforce Office at NSSF Building, Block C, 7th Floor, by Monday, July 21, at 2 pm.
"Failure to appear will result in coercive measures and legal action," he said.
They have also been ordered to surrender all passports in their possession belonging to affected complainants.
Mutua, at the same time, confirmed that a number of past fraud cases that had been stuck at the investigation stage have now been processed and forwarded to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP).
Arrests and prosecutions will begin immediately as part of renewed efforts to clean up the sector, he stated.
In a message to victims, the CS urged Kenyans who have paid for jobs abroad but failed to travel or receive a refund to report to the NSSF Building in Nairobi with relevant documents, or call the toll-free number 0800 222 223 if outside the capital.
Reporting desks are open Monday to Friday, between 9:00 am and 1 pm.
While condemning the rogue agents, Mutua emphasised that the vast majority of Kenya’s licensed recruitment agencies continue to operate lawfully.
"In the last two years alone, over 400,000 Kenyans have secured jobs abroad through legal channels, with fewer than 1,000 complaints filed, that’s less than 0.25% of all deployments,” he said.
“We want to raise that figure to 100 per cent safety.”
The CS further urged job seekers to always verify recruiters on the NEA website (neaims.go.ke), insist on attested contracts, and avoid using tourist visas for work travel.
"This government, under the leadership of President William Ruto, is committed to safe, dignified and legal labour migration. We will not relent until every Kenyan is protected and respected," he said.
He made the announcement flanked by key officials, including Labour Principal Secretary Shadrack Mwadime, Attorney General Dorcas Oduor, DCI Director Mohammed Amin, Secretary of Public Prosecutions Alloys Kemo, and NEA’s Director of Labour Migration Joseph Njue.
