The State Department for Diaspora Affairs has launched a pilot programme aimed at training and placing Kenyan care workers in Canada.
In a brief statement on Monday, February 2, State Department for Diaspora Affairs Principal Secretary Roseline Njogu said the pilot falls under the department's Muuguzi Majuu programme.
Njogu said the programme is anchored on a new partnership between the government and a Canadian firm that will handle training and job placement for care workers.
"Today we signed a Letter of Intent between the Government of Kenya and Athari Global - a diaspora-owned Canadian firm, working to train Kenyans in disability support work here in Kenya and connecting them with employers in Canada," she said.
Njogu noted that the pilot phase, which is already underway, involves an initial group of 30 Kenyan participants.
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"The pilot project now has approximately 30 Kenyans and is growing. This is part of our Muuguzi Majuu program. Structured mobility pathways work," she added.
This comes days after the Ministry of Labour uncovered a fraudulent overseas recruitment scheme involving forged documents and an unlicensed recruitment network targeting Kenyans seeking jobs in Oman.
In a statement on Friday, January 30, Labour and Social Protection Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua said the scheme involved the recruitment of three women, Jeneffer, Matilda, and Caroline, who were scheduled to travel to Oman under what has now been confirmed as a fake process.
According to the report, the recruitment was conducted outside Kenya’s legal labour migration framework and relied on falsified government clearances.
The three job seekers were processed through an informal network rather than a licensed recruitment agency.
The primary local contact, Elijah’s Ticketing Tours, admitted to not holding a recruitment license, claiming instead that he only handled ticketing and reservations for what he described as 'direct hires.'
The report further names a Mohamed, allegedly based in Oman, as the foreign recruiter, while the local contact claimed that labour clearance and contract attestation were being handled by a supposed Ministry of Labour official identified as 'Raphael.'
However, investigations by the Ministry exposed multiple red flags.
"Verification with the Ministry’s Attestation Department confirmed that no officer by the name of Mr. Raphael exists within that unit. The stamps used on the recruitment documents are fake and did not originate from the Ministry of Labour," the report read.
Authorities also established that the alleged work visas were invalid.
"A search of the Oman e-Visa Portal returned no records for the said work visas," the report noted.
The Ministry concluded that the entire recruitment process was illegal and deliberately designed to bypass established migration safeguards.
"The recruitment process for Jeneffer, Matilda, and Caroline is fraudulent. The operation relies on forged Ministry of Labour clearances and unauthorised ticketing agents to bypass legal migration protocols, significantly increasing the risk of exploitation for the job seekers involved," the report further read.
Mutua warned those behind the scheme to surrender to authorities, and issued an advisory urging Kenyans seeking overseas employment to exercise caution and verify recruiters before committing any funds or documents.
"The persons who have been operating this scheme should surrender to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) before summons are issued to track and arrest them. Before engaging anyone on Kazi Majuu, please undertake basic research and due diligence," he said.
