Senior Economic Advisor at State House, Moses Kuria, has sounded an alarm over alleged reports that candidates selected for the Kenya Prisons Warden jobs paid up to Ksh500,000 in bribes to get the jobs.
On April 30, the Kenya Prison Services conducted a nationwide recruitment to onboard professional Cadet Officers, Technicians, Artisans, and Prison Constables, strengthening the country’s correctional services with fresh personnel.
The Prison Services invited both male and female candidates aged between 18 and 30 to apply for the various positions, with enthusiastic Kenyans jumping at the opportunity to secure the jobs.
Unfortunately, according to Moses Kuria, the recruitment process was not fair, subjecting candidates to pay high fees amounting to up to Ksh500,000 just to secure the jobs.
Kuria expressed concern over the alleged corruption, calling it immoral and unacceptable.
"I am getting disturbing reports that the candidates who were recruited for the Kenya Prison Wardens jobs paid bribes of Ksh500K each. This is not good. It's immoral. It's not worth it," Kuria wrote.
Distressed parents and candidates had previously taken to social media to narrate how some were duped into paying high amounts for the jobs, but they still missed out.
One distressed Kenyan took to social media to reveal that over six parents paid Ksh250,000 each to one of the alleged recruiting officers to secure jobs for their children.
"My friend paid Ksh 250,000 for his son to join the service. There were six of them, each paying the same amount to a recruiting officer. The officer later sent an admission letter with one of the sons' names, making the parents believe the recruitment was genuine," the Kenyan narrated.
The alleged officer assured parents that their children would be collected for training at Landimawe, but on the scheduled day, he switched off his phone, leaving families stranded.
"The training was happening in Ruiru, where they would stay for 9 months. Shopping done, 25k spent, the officer told them he would come for the 6 children at Land Mawe at 11 am," the parent continued.
Condemning the events, Kuria warned those responsible of dire consequences.
This is not the first time Kenyans have been duped or paid hefty amounts to land jobs in government, an issue the Ministry of Interior had promised to streamline with online police recruitments.
Despite the uproar, the Kenya Prisons Service has yet to issue an official statement addressing the allegations.
