Thousands Stranded After Being Duped to Pay Millions for Jobs in Masai Mara

Jobseekers wait to hand in their documents during recruitment at County Hall in Nairobi, 2019.
Jobseekers wait to hand in their documents during recruitment at County Hall in Nairobi, 2019.
NMG

Thousands of Kenyans were over the weekend left stranded outside a hotel in Masai Mara after they were duped into paying millions of shillings for jobs.

The victims had made an application for various jobs including front desk staff, room attendants, waiters, Barmen, kitchen staff and cleaners at a hotel hotel known as Mara Crescent.

Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, a representative from Mara Crescent Hotel confirmed the existence of the hotel but explained that no vacancies were open at the moment.

"No (Mara crescent did not run an advertisement), the advert we had run had already closed. No more applications now," stated the official.

Jobseekers queue on Wabera Street, Nairobi, as they wait to be interviewed by The Sarova Stanley on May 26, 2018.
Jobseekers queue on Wabera Street, Nairobi, as they wait to be interviewed by The Sarova Stanley on May 26, 2018.
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He further explained that the advertisement that left thousands stranded was not affiliated to the hotel which was gearing for a re-launch

A report by Daily Nation on Tuesday, April 20, indicated that the applicants had showed up at a different hotel known as Sekenani where they were informed the hiring hotel did not exist.

A job advertisement ran by the fraudsters had indicated that the facility had 36 vacant jobs whose salary ranged between Ksh20,145 and Ksh38,600.

"We are looking for enthusiastic, energetic, friendly staff to be part of our opening team at the Mara CrescentAt Mara Crescent, we believe your attitude is more important than anything.

"This is why we wish to recruit dynamic, result oriented and committed individuals to serve within the Resort and on game drives," read the advertisement in part.

Some of the victims indicated that they parted with Ksh2,740 as medical certificate fee among various other facilitation fees of the vacancies that did not require physical interviews.

According to requirements listed by the fraudsters, the successful applicants would get a two-year contract and their pay would be reviewed upwards at the end of May.

The employees were also promised other benefits including free accommodation and a chance to work in flexible shifts.

How to spot a fake job advert

As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to ravage the economy, Kenyans can use these tips to identify fake job advertisements and steer clear of fraudsters

Grammatical errors.

The purported Mara Crescent advertisement had a number of grammatical errors but a respectable company does not publish adverts riddled with grammatical errors to protect their own image.

Background research

Before shooting an email or sending any facilitation fees, applicants are advised to do a background research and ascertain physical location of a company as well as contact details with emails attributed to company website and not personal emails.

This shows whether a company is legitimate and registered under governing laws.

Check out for payments

The first red flag to note when applying for a job is if a company is asking for payments before listing of candidates. No genuine company or recruiting agency will ask for money as facilitation fee.

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A traffic police officer at Kimathi Street, Nairobi
Kenyans.co.ke