The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has launched a manhunt for City preacher James Wanjohi as investigations into a Ksh600 Million job racket intensify.
DCI officers on Friday 19, 2024 raided Wanjohi’s Worth Start Africa offices in Pension Towers, Nairobi, after thousands of the company’s victims recorded statements with the police.
The statements were those of clients who had fallen prey to the flashy preacher and lost millions of shillings under the guise that he would help them secure jobs abroad and visas.
According to the police, more than 4,000 jobseekers each paying a fee ranging from Ksh100 000 to 140, 000 to Pastor Wanjohi’s Worth Start Africa as agency fees for the processing of their overseas job application and Visa processing fees had recorded statements.
The jobseekers in their statements said that they were promised they would get the jobs and travel out of the country in a span of three months, but the agency started ignoring their calls and inquiries.
DCI act on Victims’ Statements
“They were telling us the process would take three months. I have been patient all that long from July to December. They were not calling I had to physically come to their offices and beg them.
I had to come from far and pay the fare to get here. They treat you rudely as you enquire about your process. At the end of it all they tell you that you have faced a ban. I want justice to be served so that we get our money back, ” said a victim.
Also Read: Police Shoot and Kill Pastor Caught Robbing a Shop
According to the victim, one would get no communication from the agency once the payment was made and efforts to reach them via call turned futile.
“When you pay that’s it, there is no communication from the office. They can’t call you they don’t say anything until you come and confront them,” she added.
DCI reported that the preacher’s victims range from young people fresh out of school to old people seeking to secure their children’s future.
Church members targeted
Majority of the victims were members of his church Jesus Culture Ministry which, based in Roysambu, who placed their absolute faith and money in their pastor.
One of his victims lamented that she took out chama loan to pay for her orphaned grandchild to go to work in Canada, but six months later, no progress had been made.
The victims say they sensed trouble when all the applicants and jobseekers were met with the familiar line after making their requisite payment of Ksh150,000, that their Visa application had been rejected.
“We have a group of more than two hundred clients who had paid. How come there is no single person who has successfully acquired a Visa with the agency?” questioned another victim.
DCI officers raided Wanjohi’s office premises in Nairobi and carted away computers and other office records to help in the investigation.
Police have arrested, most of the directors and senior staff of the recruitment agency and are looking for the self-styled preacher who is the founder and mastermind of the racket.
DCI officers want to question him after members of the public accused him of obtaining money from them with a false promise of securing them jobs abroad.
Detectives launch manhunt
Wanjohi allegedly went into hiding after his victims started recording statements with the police.
Also Read: Politician in Court for Conning Jobless Kenyans
According to the information on their website, Worth Start Limited offer a wide range of services including Visa Application and Tracking, Travel Consultation, Flight Bookings and Reservations, and Hosting Services, Flight Bookings and Reservations, Hotel Bookings and Reservations
In terms of job searching and placements the agency claims to have connected over 300 people with jobs abroad and helped over 500 people in securing visas for travels abroad.
James Wanjohi Njoroge on the other hand is a flamboyant city preacher and prominent urban entrepreneur who is known for his diverse roles, ranging from a pastor to an influential figure in the online sphere.
In 2022, Wanjohi who is also owner of company Voyage Africa Limited, another travel management agency, was charged with theft of a motor vehicle belonging to Juvenia Lydia Mapilele Cohen.
He was charged alongside Kevin Brian Amolo, and the offense was reportedly committed on November 6, 2020, in Nairobi.
The pastor who is a director of Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) also unsuccessfully vied for Member of Parliament for Roysambu under UDA party in the 2022 elections.
How to check legit agencies
To avoid being conned while seeking jobs abroad, mote that the Kenyan government through the National Employment Authority keeps a record of licensed foreign and local recruitment agencies.
The list can be accessed through the National Employment Authority Integrated Management System (NEAIMS) which is currently connecting 25,400 job seekers with 8,074 employers.
Interested Kenyans can connect with the recruiters by clicking www.neaims.go.ke and then selecting the “List of Private Employment Agencies” tab on the homepage.
According to the State Department for Diaspora Affairs says, Kenyans seeking to leave the country should first confirm whether the agent is licensed and registered with the National Employment Authority via the NEAIMS website.
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