Kenyan preacher and businessman James Wanjohi Njoroge has gone into hiding after allegedly defrauding Kenyan job seekers of millions of shillings.
The preacher, through his company WorthStart Agency, headquartered in Nairobi, is accused of swindling money from desperate job seekers by promising job opportunities abroad.
According to Nation, the agency defrauded more than 4,000 job seekers of their cash. The victims are said to have paid Sh100,000 each to WorthStart agency, which is said to have obtained a total of Sh600 million from unsuspecting job seekers.
DCI detectives raided the agency’s office at Pension Towers, Nairobi, following complaints from victims of the alleged con.
In a video that went viral on social media, a distraught young is seen weeping uncontrollably at the offices of the travel agency, yelling how he lost over Sh60,000 that he had borrowed to pay the firm for supposed overseas opportunities.
Video: Man wails in Nairobi after losing loan money to agent who promised fake Canada job
“They said there were so many jobs in Canada including jobs for drivers. I borrowed Sh. 60,000 to pay them and up until now I have never been taken to Canada,” he said, adding that the agency has been holding the money since January this year yet they never processed his work visa application as they had claimed.
Wanjohi is not new to fraud allegations, as in 2022, he was charged with theft of a motor vehicle belonging to Juvenia Lydia Mapilele Cohen.
He was charged alongside Kevin Brian Amolo in the offense reportedly committed on November 6, 2020, in Nairobi.
The director of Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI), who has also doubled in politics and unsuccessfully ran for nomination under the UDA party for the Roysambu Parliamentary seat, is known for his flashy lifestyle.
In December 2023, he shared a video of him on social media platforms gifting his sister a multi-million car, leaving netizens questioning his source of wealth.
His firm, WorthStart Limited, claims to offer a wide range of services, including; Travel Consultation, Visa Application and Tracking, Hosting Services, Flight Bookings and Reservations, Hotel Bookings, and Reservations, Job Searching, and Placements.
According to the information on its website, the firm further claims to have connected over 300 people with jobs abroad and helped over 500 people in securing visas for travel abroad.