Labour Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua has revealed that 5,000 Kenyans are stuck in Qatar, stranded, penniless, and jobless.
The CS made the revelation while appearing on Citizen TV on Sunday night pointing a finger of blame to rogue recruitment agencies that have lied to Kenyans with promises of plum jobs abroad but delivered nothing.
“As we speak, we’ve got 5,000 Kenyans stuck in Qatar living as refugees who were taken there during the World Cup period,” he revealed.
Mutua noted that most of these Kenyans were taken there during the 2022 FIFA World Cup held in Doha, Qatar, many of whom failed to return after the soccer ended.
“5,000 Kenyans that are being fed by International Organization for migration every day in Qatar and it is because of these rogue agencies in our country that are doing these things,” CS Mutua lamented.
Allegedly, some rogue agencies recruited Kenyans requiring them to fork thousands of Kenyan shillings to secure the openings which only lasted for three months.
Mutua observed that after the Kenyans got jobs abroad, the stay period was brief and they could not afford to come back home because of the costs they had already incurred.
“Because they have paid between Ksh200,000 and Ksh250,000, they have refused to come home.They are staying there until they get a job from somebody,” Mutua explained.
Reportedly, job seekers have been required to part with over Ksh200,000 to secure job openings abroad, most of which end in pockets of agents.
Raising the required amount is beyond the means of most people as most job seekers have been forced to sell their land and livestock and even take debts to secure the openings. Mutua decried corruption as a vice that has been responsible for the current situation.
“The problem we have had in this country when it comes to job migration has been corruption. People have been conned a lot of money,” he stated.
The CS observed that since his tenure in the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, he has been tackling the menace of corruption to clean up the system and ensure Kenyans are not manipulated by fly-of-the-wheel agencies. He served in the Foreign Ministry before taking over Ministry of Labour.
“What I have been trying to correct since I got into this ministry is corruption,” he added emphasising that job interviews should be free apart from the required medical tests and other fees.
