More than 250,000 Kenyans have fallen victim to a large-scale recruitment scam promising police jobs in Qatar, exposing serious flaws in Kenya’s labour export system.
The scam, which ran from late 2023 to early 2025, saw victims pay up to KES 300,000 to fake agents posing as government-backed recruiters.
Using forged documents and social media promotions, fraudsters convinced thousands of jobseekers mostly youth that they would be deployed to Qatar under official programs.
Labour Cabinet Secretary Florence Bore, in an April 28 statement, confirmed that the syndicate exploited weak vetting systems and public trust. “This reveals critical gaps in how recruitment agencies are regulated,” she said.
Authorities have since suspended several unlicensed firms and launched investigations. Meanwhile, victims many of whom sold property or took loans are demanding justice and government accountability.
