The Kenyan government on Tuesday cautioned citizens against falling victim to job scams by rogue agents who might lure people with the promise of jobs in Canada.
A statement by the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua, warned Kenyans that they ought to be careful and wary of agencies that say they are recruiting for Canadian firms.
The CS who was in Canada and held a meeting with the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship of Canada Sean Fraser said that he is aware that some Kenyans have been conned by some agencies.
“You, therefore, need to be careful so that you are not swindled,” he said.
According to the CS, the two countries had agreed on the various migration opportunity pathways for Kenyans to go and work in Canada.
“I was pleased to note that there are job opportunities within various economic sectors across Canada and Kenyans can travel as students, tourists and as workers,” the CS said.
Mutua said Canada has more employment opportunities than available people to work, thus the agreement to allow Kenyan workers help fill the gap.
He said the process for those who wish to go to Canada is simple but requires diligence.
“We are in negotiations and we will be providing a comprehensive statement within the next few days with guidance and links agreed upon between the Kenyan and the Canadian government so that Kenyans can apply for migration or job visas,” Mutua said.
The CS warning comes months after a similar one he issued cautioning citizens against falling victim to job scams after it emerged that rogue agents were luring people with the promise of jobs in southeast Asia then end up trafficking them.
A statement made public on October 2022, said that the Kenyan embassy in Bangkok had collaborated with the International Organisation on Migration (IOM), HAART Kenya and security agencies to rescue 50 Kenyans from the region in the recent past. The 50 had fallen victim to these job frauds.
“In spite of the plights of Kenyans who have fallen victim to this scam being highlighted in the media, dozens of others are still lured and travelling abroad under similar arrangements,” it said.
The ministry said it had been “inundated with calls and messages from distressed Kenyans who fell and continue to fall victims to international human traffickers who are in cahoots with local recruitment agencies”.
Rogue agents from these recruitment agencies usually help process visas and return air tickets for the job seekers but as soon as they board their flights leaving Kenya, their return tickets are usually cancelled, leaving the duped job seekers “at the mercy of local networks who traffic them to other destinations”.
