As several youths in Uasin Gishu parted with their hard-earned money, paying recruitment agencies to get them jobs in the much-awaited World Cup, little did they know that they would be starring in the face of hopelessness.
Indeed pain and devastation usually set in when one realises that the hope they had in a promising venture, was just but sorrow lurking in the shadows.
Kennedy Kipchirchir, one of the victims, recounted how he parted ways with Ksh200,000 in search of a brighter future in the upcoming football tournament in Qatar.
The agency, a heartbroken Kipchirchir stated, convinced him to pay the money upfront with an additional Ksh12,000 for registration. However, the agency based in Eldoret town kept on postponing the trip, roping him into a Tom and Jerry chase game.
The issue was compounded by the fact that Kipchirchir had secured a loan with the belief that his life would be better. As the money went from his hands to the pockets of the rogue agents, the burden of offsetting the credit followed him in reverse.
“My dad, who is a teacher, took loans to raise the money and we have been trying to get it back in vain.
“I paid a registration fee of Ksh12,000 and part of the commission fee of Ksh200,000. I also had to add another Ksh200,000 to go to Poland, though it never happened," he stated.
On the other end, Pauline Ambaka narrated that the agency kept pushing their travelling dates without giving them a justified explanation for the delays.
“I paid Ksh40,000 for a slot to work in Qatar in June 2022. I was told to wait for August and when August came they said I would fly out after the elections,” she stated.
According to the victims some of the jobs promised were cleaning, cashier and receptionist jobs in the Middle East countries.
However, in response, officials from the agency blamed the delays on changes in the World Cup schedule even as the organisation added that those who paid for the jobs will get what was promised to them.
“The World Cup was shifted to the months of November to December 2022. Those who complain that we have not taken them in the months of August ought to understand the shift,” she said.
“Those who are complaining about delays, it is not us but the other side in processing the visas. For us, we want to deploy those recruited immediately.” the official stated.
The matter was reported to the police who have launched investigations into the matter.
“We are suspicious about the recruitment process. For instance, if you look at the receipts that were used, they don’t have stamps,” Turbo Deputy County Commissioner Mohammed Mwabudzo stated.
As billions of fans in the world will be glued to their TVs, enjoying the World Cup frenzy, the affected Kenyan youths will be working on healing their wounds and sleeping with the thoughts of what could have been the greatest milestones in their lives.
