Kenyan footballer, Davis Agesa Amuzu, has returned home after a 4-month ordeal in Malaysia where he was scammed by a fake agent and left to languish in the Asian country.
According to a report published by the Fédération Internationale des Associations de Footballeurs Professionnels (FIFPRO),the worldwide representative organisation for 65,000 professional footballers, it took the intervention of Malaysian player associations and FIFPRO to bring Davis back to Kenya.
Recounting his ordeal, Davis, a striker who previously played for FC Talanta and Nairobi City Stars, said he was approached by a local Kenyan coach who promised to connect him with someone who could secure him a position at a club in a competitive league.
Davis was then introduced to an agent from Ivory Coast who claimed he would help Davis join a professional club in Malaysia.
According to FIFPRO's report, the fake agent convinced Davis to secure a visa, passport, and ticket to Malaysia. Davis also paid the agent Ksh600,000 to facilitate the move.
At the time, Davis believed that he would recoup the money, once he signed for the club he was promised. However, this never happened.
When he arrived in Malaysia on May 18, Davis remained stranded as both the Ivorian agent and a handler designated to pick him up at the airport failed to receive his calls and reply to his messages.
“I stayed at the airport upon my arrival until midnight. I slept at the airport … still waiting…but eventually, as a human I got tired,” said Davis.
Frustrated and with nowhere to turn to, Davis retreated to a nearby hotel where he stayed for a few days.
However, he quickly ran out of money and had to live on the streets for a while before a well-wisher invited him to his house on condition that he would contribute towards rent payment.
“Day to day it was communication with the agent, promising me things that I couldn’t see, promising me to be received…but I have to take a leap of faith and keep waiting,” Davis narrated.
Dejected at the state of affairs, Davis reached out to his family in Kenya who turned to social media and appealed to Kenyans to help raise funds to support their kin.
After getting wind of his plight on social media, the Kenya Footballers Welfare Association (KEFWA), together with FIFPRO Africa and the Professional Footballers Association of Malaysia (PFAM) jumped to his support.
The Kenyan Embassy in Malaysia also intervened, helping him to sort out the overstay penalties and travel documents. This allowed him to return home on September 27, after the four-month ordeal.
Following his predicament, Davis advised Kenyan footballers to watch out for fake agents.
“For a true agent, there is no services fee required…you don’t need to book a flight for yourself.”
He also urged the players to join KEFWA, which he said, helped him overcome his tribulations and come back to Kenya in one piece.
