The Kenyan government’s highly publicised foreign jobs program, intended to curb unemployment, is unravelling amid allegations of fraud, leaving Labour Cabinet Secretary Dr. Alfred Mutua at the centre of a growing scandal. While Mutua defends the initiative as a legitimate pathway to economic empowerment, testimony before the Senate Labour and Social Welfare Committee reveals a troubling pattern of broken promises, delayed deployments, and exploited youth.
Mutua has acknowledged that hundreds of applicants, some waiting over six months, have yet to be deployed despite paying fees and completing mandatory medical and recruitment processes. He attributes the delays to “registration, medical exams, and coordination with foreign agencies.” However, for the 89 shortlisted candidates who each paid KSh 15,000 for medical tests and still lack contracts, these explanations ring hollow.
Only a fraction of the promised 8,000 job slots have materialised. A widely publicised recruitment drive in Nairobi, heralded as a gateway to opportunities in Qatar, resulted in just 300 youth being deployed. Similarly, recruitment efforts in counties like Machakos, Makueni, Kitui, and Nakuru yielded 5,931 provisional offers, but few candidates have left Kenya. This raises pressing questions: Where are the remaining jobs, and where is the money paid by applicants?
The controversy has sparked a public feud between Mutua and Nominated Senator Gloria Orwoba. Mutua, visibly frustrated, accused Orwoba of acting as an unauthorised recruitment agent, harassing ministry staff, and threatening to “bring him down” while referencing President William Ruto. He claimed Orwoba mobilised over 90 youth for the program, only to spread misinformation when it faltered.
Orwoba, undeterred, has accused Mutua’s ministry of overseeing a corrupt system that has defrauded thousands. She alleges that if all victims came forward, “Kasarani Stadium couldn’t hold them.” Orwoba has demanded full refunds for applicants misled by two agencies, Monisa Company Ltd and Global Face Human Resource Ltd, which collected fees but failed to deliver contracts. In a letter dated March 18, 2025, she challenged the National Employment Authority (NEA) over irregularities, noting that 56 candidates passed driver interviews and 52 completed medical tests at a Kisii clinic, only for the process to stall without explanation.
Mutua has deflected blame onto applicants, citing failed medical tests, insufficient funds, or “changes of heart” as reasons for delays. He insists that safeguards like pre-departure training and documentation protect migrant workers. Yet, these protocols are now being criticised as excuses for systemic failures. Victims, including Godfrey Githae, who borrowed KSh 55,000 for a promised job in Iraq, and Calvin Nyamweya, who paid KSh 20,000 for medical checks, report receiving partial or no refunds after months of waiting.
What began as a beacon of hope has descended into bureaucratic chaos and mutual accusations. The silence from senior government officials fuels suspicions of a coordinated cover-up. Mutua portrays himself as a reformer caught in a political crossfire, but to the youth who sold livestock, took loans, and pinned their hopes on this program, the dream of working abroad has become a nightmare.
As the Senate probe continues, with Mutua summoned to clarify the “Kazi Majuu” program’s failures, one thing is certain: the youth, left in debt and despair, are not the ones at fault.
