On Saturday, April 6, another group of Kenyans rescued from Myanmar returned to the country, just two weeks after a previous group was flown in from the same nation.
The returnees, who had spent approximately 40 harrowing days in Myanmar, shared their painful experiences with the media, detailing how they were misled and subjected to inhumane treatment.
According to several victims, the journey began in Kenya when they were promised well-paying jobs in Thailand by local agents. Motivated by hope, they secured the necessary travel documents and funds, unaware of the nightmare that awaited them.
Most victims reported that upon arrival, they were shocked to discover they were not in Thailand, but in Myanmar.
“We crossed a river and were taken across a border. That’s when I realized my life might be over. I texted my family and told them, ‘If I disappear, just know I was heading to Thailand, but I have no idea where I am now. I had never even heard of Myanmar,” one victim recalled.
Kenyans Narrate Their Horrific Ordeal in Myanmar
He further explained that instead of the teaching job he had been promised, he was forced into online fraud. “When we arrived, it wasn’t a teaching job. It was a fraud—scamming people online. You confuse people and steal from them directly.”
Another victim, a chef, stated he had been promised a culinary position but was instead assigned to a similar role in the scam operations. “I’m a chef, and that’s what I was told I would be doing in Thailand. But I found myself stuck in a fake job—scamming people online.”
The victims described the conditions in Myanmar as horrific. Many were locked in a building filled with computers and were coerced into participating in online scams.
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Those who failed to meet daily scamming targets faced severe punishment, including torture. Some victims reported witnessing fellow captives dying from the abuse.
One female victim shared that she had been told she was going to Bangkok to work in a food packaging factory. However, upon arrival, everything changed. “I wasn’t the only one. Nine of us traveled that day on the same flight. At the airport, our passports were taken, and we were subjected to multiple checks. I said I had come for a factory job, and they told me, ‘There’s no factory here.’
When I asked what job I would be doing, they said it was online fraud.”
Diaspora Affairs PS Warns Kenyans Against Dealing with Unlicensed Agents
She added that they were confined in a large room equipped with computers and forced to scam unsuspecting victims online. Those who failed to meet daily targets were locked in dark rooms and tortured.
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While receiving the returnees at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Principal Secretary for Diaspora Affairs, Roseline Njogu, cautioned Kenyans against working with unregistered agents and tour companies.
“We continue to see Kenyans using unlicensed travel agents and tour companies in their quest for jobs abroad. Many of these young men and women found these so-called opportunities through WhatsApp and Facebook. Please, check with us. Contact the State Department for Foreign Affairs via our hotline, email, or come to our office. We will confirm whether the job opportunity is genuine or not.”
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