Diaspora Affairs Principal Secretary Roseline Njogu has warned Kenyans against accepting military and other high-risk jobs abroad through unlicensed agents, saying many end up stranded in active war zones with limited government recourse.
Njogu said families continue to seek state intervention after recruits travel knowingly or unknowingly into combat situations, despite prior government advisories against such destinations.
Speaking on Radio Generation, Njogu stressed that “safety begins with a licensed agent,” cautioning job seekers against responding to random social media adverts promising lucrative pay.
“You meet a random advert for a job on WhatsApp or Facebook — ‘we are recruiting soldiers for Russia’ — and you think, I can do this. They promise you good money. They are not a licensed agent. It’s just some person you met on social media,” she said.
Njogu revealed that her office has handled real cases where recruits signed contracts, received upfront payments for their families, and later found themselves deployed to front lines in active conflict zones.
“You fly to Russia, and after a while you realize war is actually really bad. People are dying. You are being put on the front lines. Bullets are flying. People you came with have died. You are living in fear for your life every day,” she said.
She noted that families often approach her office seeking urgent government intervention. “As late as yesterday, your family comes to my office… They knew there was war. They knew we had said people should not go. Why would you allow him to go, and now you want us to intervene in an active war zone?” she posed.
According to the PS, some recruits knowingly sign up as combatants, while others are misled into believing they will offer logistical support. Others are recruited from third countries, bypassing Kenyan authorities altogether.
“It all starts with walking into a room with an unlicensed agent. You don’t tell us about the contract. You don’t come to the Ministry to do due diligence,” she said.
Njogu emphasized that government rescue efforts are most effective when migrants follow official procedures. “If today I get a message from a domestic worker in distress in the Middle East, we swing into action. There is a licensed agent involved. We have a copy of her contract. We know her employer. We activate that safety framework,” she explained.
She questioned whether limited public funds should be diverted to rescue those who deliberately ignored official safeguards.
“When you walk outside the safety guardrails that we have created, you cannot then say the government should come and help me,” Njogu said, urging Kenyans to take advantage of safer, negotiated labour agreements in countries such as Germany and Austria.
