Hundreds of unsuspecting farmers and traders in Eldoret are counting losses amounting to tens of millions of money.
These losses are the result of a fake heaven on earth that these residents were promised by an agent who claimed he could give them Canada visas and take them to work in Canada.
According to a report by the Eldoret Media Hub’s Hubz Media, these unsuspecting Kenyans were lured by an agent who was identified as Novice Global. The agent had promised them jobs in Canada for their children. The agent had further promised to secure Canada visas for their children.
For each application, they were charged up to Sh. 350,000. One of the victims, Joshua Lagat narrated to Eldoret Media Hub how he coughed up Sh. 1.05 million to have his three children taken to Canada for work.
He said that Novice Global had promised to take care of everything including application fees, jobs, and hosts who would welcome his children in Canada. In return, he was to pay Sh. 350,000 per child. His children had been slated to relocate to Canada by September 2023.
However, it was not until a few weeks ago that the office informed him that the applications had been rejected. His kids would not be going to Canada and neither would he be getting his money back.
A second victim told the media hub that he had paid Sh. 400,000 for his child. The money, just as Lagat’s, went down the drain.
Among the victims was a single mother who narrated that she paid Sh. 350,000 for her child, then mobilized her her brother who also paid Sh. 350,000. The brother then mobilized his friends who also paid for their kids. Altogether, they paid about Sh. 2 million to the agent.
The report said that the agency is owned by an individual known as Gilbert Songok who allegedly lives in Canada. According to the report by Eldoret Media Hub, up to 400 people might have fallen victim to the scam.
In what has become a trend, fake agents have marooned across the country and are milking desperate Kenyans with fake promises of jobs in Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia and the United States.
Barely a week ago, a young man from Kiambu was caught on camera wailing after losing Sh. 60,000 he had borrowed to facilitate for his Canadian work visa at a Nairobi agent dubbed Worth Start.
The individuals who have been purporting to act as agents are not licensed in Kenya by the National Employment Authority (NEA). Neither are they licensed by the respective governments whose visas they claim to facilitate.
Video: Man wails in Nairobi after losing loan money to agent who promised fake Canada job
For instance, Bizna Kenya can reveal that there are no Kenyan agents whatsoever who have been licensed by the Canada government’s Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) or the College of Immigration and Citizenship Canada (CICC) to conduct Canadian immigration services on behalf of applicants or give Canada visas.
According to the IRCC and the CICC regulations, agents claiming to take people to Canada or facilitate visa applications are partaking in an illegal activity.
The IRCC cautions that the use of illegal agents could result in the applicant getting banned for a period of five years.
The names, credentials and license statuses for all licensed and active Canadian immigration representatives can be searched for free online on the CICC website.
An investigation by Bizna Kenya has revealed that rogue agents in Nairobi have been baiting unsuspecting Kenyans with fake jobs in Canada who have been losing hundreds if thousands of cash in the process.
The agents have also been accused of applying dumping applicants in Canadian streets for asylum claims using visit visas.
