Prime Cabinet Secretary and Foreign Affairs CS Musalia Mudavadi has discredited media allegations that the Kenya Kwanza administration is reportedly involved in the 'slave trade'.
In a statement after he appeared before the National Assembly on Wednesday, November 19, Mudavadi affirmed that the Kenyan government had put in place measures to ensure every Kenyan working abroad was safe. As such, he reiterated that any claims to the contrary were misleading.
This comes just days after a New York Times investigation implicated several government officials and some of President William Ruto's family members in being involved in recruitment agencies sending Kenyans to Saudi Arabia without proper preparation or protection.
"It is therefore misleading, careless, and sensational for any media outlet to insinuate that the Government has, at any point, participated in or tolerated slavery or the exploitation of Kenyans pursuing opportunities abroad," Mudavadi stated.
"Our commitment remains unwavering to shield our citizens, expand their opportunities, and elevate Kenya’s global footprint with dignity and resolve."
In his responses to the lawmakers, Mudavadi said that the government had taken 'bold, deliberate, and forward-looking steps' to safeguard Kenyans working abroad.
Among these, he mentioned, was the deregistration of more than 600 rogue recruitment agencies. He revealed that for any agency to be licensed, it must provide insurance cover at no cost to the Kenyan worker.
He also highlighted the establishment of the State Department for Diaspora Affairs for the first time in Kenya's history to champion the rights and aspirations of the diaspora community.
This department, he said, has led to the increase in remittance of Kenyans in diaspora from Ksh490 billion in 2022 to Ksh650 billion in 2024, with a national target of Ksh1 trillion by 2027.
This is despite Kenya receiving backlash after four million citizens abroad collectively remitted nearly Ksh1 trillion home, making labour the largest export, surpassing tea and coffee.
In the New York Times article, the plight of forgotten unwed Kenyan mothers in Saudi Arabia was highlighted, with most of them left homeless in Riyadh due to delayed bureaucracy at the Kenyan Embassy.
The article alleged that this labour export stood to benefit the agency owners, alleging that the President's wife and daughter were major shareholders in one of these recruitment agencies.
After these Kenyans run into issues during their employment, they receive little to no help despite being some of the lowest earners of all foreign domestic workers.
The minimum average was recently changed from about Ksh31,000 per month to Ksh34,000. With governments responsible for negotiating on behalf of their citizens, the Kenyan government has raised concerns that if the wage is increased, they might lose jobs to other cheaper African countries like Burundi and Ethiopia.
