NAIROBI, Kenya – Senators have accused several Members of Parliament and government officials of secretly owning rogue recruitment agencies that are sending Kenyans into abusive and dangerous working conditions abroad.
The legislators claim officials in the Ministries of Labour and Foreign Affairs — as well as members of the National Assembly’s Labour Committee — are linked to unlicensed or fraudulent firms that lure job seekers with promises of lucrative opportunities only to abandon them once they leave the country.
The allegations surfaced after the Senate Standing Committee on Trade and Tourism visited Qatar, where it met Kenyan migrant workers living in distress.
Embu Senator Alexander Mundigi said many workers shared harrowing accounts of deception and neglect.
“During a recent visit to Qatar, I met Kenyan immigrant workers who raised serious concerns regarding their welfare and working conditions,” Mundigi said, adding that some of the agencies implicated by workers are associated with MPs and senior officials. “They are lured by these agencies, only to be abandoned abroad.”
Workers reported exploitation by unlicensed agents, unsafe and crowded living conditions, withheld passports, wage disparities and emotional distress. Some said they earn far less than other nationalities for the same work.
Kiambu Senator Karungo Thang’wa cited the case of Joseph Kiongozi, a Kenyan detained in Saudi Arabia after speaking out about mistreatment of migrant labourers.
His wife died soon after his arrest, leaving their child without either parent.
“Kenyans in the diaspora, especially in Qatar, Dubai and Saudi Arabia, have suffered for too long,” he said.
Vihiga Senator Godfrey Osotsi said exploitation in the Gulf was a long-running crisis and insisted the government knows the individuals behind the bogus recruitment outfits.
“The starting point is to face the bull by the horns and demand a proper audit of these recruitment firms. Who are the owners? We can easily find out,” Osotsi said.
The senators demanded tighter regulation of recruitment agencies and urgent government action, citing numerous cases of deaths, injuries, detentions and Kenyans stranded abroad.
Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei urged Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi and top officials in the ministry to appear before the Senate to explain what he termed systemic inaction.
Marsabit Senator Mohamed Chute stressed the need to safeguard the safety, dignity and rights of Kenyans in Qatar, calling for protection against passport confiscation, poor housing and unfair pay.
The government has previously said it is cracking down on rogue agencies. In May, Mudavadi said his ministry, alongside Labour officials and law enforcement, was building cases to prosecute offenders.
Labour Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua later announced that 32 agencies had been blacklisted and 153 others were under investigation for operating illegally or with expired licences.
But the senators said the situation remains dire and urged President William Ruto to intervene, warning that Kenyans continue to suffer as powerful individuals allegedly profit from fraudulent recruitment schemes.
