Nominated Senator Gloria Orwoba has launched a scathing attack on the Labour Ministry led by Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua, pointing an accusing finger at the docket for harbouring individuals purportedly exploiting Kenyans seeking employment opportunities abroad through the government’s labour export programme.
Speaking on the Senate floor on April 16, 2025, Orwoba, a Kenya Kwanza-allied legislator, expressed outrage over what she described as deliberate negligence by the Ministry of Labour in addressing the rampant cases of job scams targeting desperate Kenyans seeking employment abroad.
“The Kenya Kwanza government has really tried in terms of SDG 8 to create opportunities for our youth through a labour export programme. Our Labour CS has been out negotiating with other governments to secure decent jobs for our people,” Orwoba said.
The senator further called out widespread fraud within the ministry, alleging collusion between recruitment agents and high-ranking officials to defraud unsuspecting job seekers.
“It is so unfortunate to see the holders of these offices including the Ministry of Labour butchering a well-intended program. The fact that we have had a series of very many fraudulent activities of agents who are colluding with some of the officers, including high officers at the Labour Ministry, to con Kenyans who are innocently trying to go out and seek a dignified living,” she lamented.
Fake job syndicates
According to Orwoba, unsuspecting Kenyans have lost thousands and thousands of shillings to these fake job syndicates under the illusion that the opportunities were sanctioned by the government.
She revealed that she had personally directed some citizens to what she believed was a credible process, only to find out they had been misled.
“I have had the unfortunate experience of actually gathering Kenyans and telling them that the government has provided a really good program to ensure that they get jobs out there, only to deliver them to the hands of conmen who are sitting in the Ministry of Labour,” she revealed.
Harsh working conditions
The senator singled out Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations as key destinations where vulnerable Kenyans, especially domestic workers, continue to face harsh conditions.
She accused the government of failing to safeguard its citizens abroad and demanded an immediate review of the entire labour migration framework.
“It is a shame for the Minister of Labor to oversight all these activities where Kenyans are really suffering… what is happening is we are not only sending Kenyans to conmen but we are harbouring thieves We are harbouring conmen in the name of cabinet secretaries and government officers,” she charged.
Ruto’s intervention
In a direct appeal to President William Ruto, Orwoba urged the Head of State to intervene and address the issue with urgency.
“I want to take this opportunity again to ask my party leader, William Ruto, because it is an ongoing issue, to really stop whatever he’s doing and look into this issue of labour migration,” she urged.
“I feel very embarrassed sometimes to have to stand and speak like this about a government that I support about a government that has nominated me. But I want to say that there are things that I will draw the line,” she added.