How Kenyan woman based in Lebanon lost Sh147,000 to a travel agent in bid to move to Canada

A Kenyan woman working in Lebanon was desirous of going for greener pastures in Canada ended up losing Sh147,000 in her quest.

This is after she was introduced to a Nairobi based travel agent last year who sold her the hope that the switch from Lebanon to Canada was indeed possible.

However, the deal was never to be leading to the arrest of the suspect over the weekend and is expected in court this morning to face charges of obtaining money by false pretense.

The suspect was arrested after Makadara Magistrate Court issued orders on the 16th of September 2025 to Safaricom to provide her phone and Mpesa records to investigators.

Police were called in after the desperate Kenyan job seeker working in Lebanon NNK lost Sh147,000 to the agent who had promised to help her relocate to Canada.

NNK says, according to a police affidavit, that she approached her workmate who introduced her to the travel agent who could help her get another job in Canada.

They spoke via WhatsApp and that after she arrived in Kenya, she visited the agent on 9th November 2014 at her offices in Nairobi,, where they discussed the process and agreed on cost.

“The complainant transferred Sh50,000 to the M-Pesa of the suspect on 09/11/2024. The money was to facilitate documentation for processing the work visa. Afterwards, the complainant transferred another Sh7,000 to the accused MPesa account on the 17/12/2024. Later the complainant transferred Sh90,000 on 10/01/2025 to the suspect’s MPesa account,” the court document reads.

Police told the magistrate that despite making the payments, the agent told the victim that travelling on a Work Visa had become a challenge and suggested she opt for a Travel Visa after which documentation will be done once she arrives in Canada.

The travel agent later sent invitation letters that had discrepancies and were incorrect before stopping picking up calls. However, later when confronted she confessed to Ms. Karago that she had not done any process and instead offered to get her another job in Dubai.

“That the said complainant asked the suspect to take her to an alternative country instead. The suspect told her she had a job opportunity in Dubai. After a while the complainant confirmed if any of her process had begun through ICP Smart Service; the results indicated no process had begun for her passport.”

NNK then demanded a refund of her money but got frustrated as the suspect stopped picking her calls prompting her to report the case to Muthaiga police station.

The suspect was consequently arrested on Friday and will be arraigned in court this morning, Monday 29m 2025. Police say she faces multiple other accusations of receiving money with six other victims showing up.

 One of the victims has given police proof of Sh170,000 that was sent to the agent’s MPesa number.

The Department of Immigration working with police officers has intensified a crackdown on rogue travel/recruitment agents fleecing unsuspecting Kenyans of money in the promise of offering foreign jobs.

The Immigration Department under PS Belio Kipsang says several entities and individuals are under its radar over cases of victims being issued with fake employment letters and visas.

Authorities say that suspects operate a syndicate where they generate fake contracts and ask victims to pay certain amounts to facilitate visa issuance