Two women in Nairobi have been charged with defrauding unsuspecting Kenyans seeking for Canada jobs in Nairobi.
The two women who were identified as Lucy Nyokabi Kiutho and Staphristah Njeri Karani are said to be part of an international syndicate that defrauded 28 jobseekers. The duo is saud to have defrauded the jobseekers Sh. 15.6 million.
They have been remanded at Lang’ata Women Prison pending the hearing if their bail application on June 30, 2023, at the Milimani Law Courts.
The two have however denied the 28 fraud counts filed against them by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) through state prosecutor Anderson Gikunda.
According to the charge sheet, the duo is accused of defrauding the job seekers various amounts ranging between Sh. 71,000 to Sh. 2,000,000 between May 2022 and June 2023.
“Almost all the people in the public gallery are the complainants in this case who attended todays court proceedings. They want to catch a glimpse of the suspects who allegedly pocketed the huge sums from their relatives,” Gikunda told the court.
Their arrest comes hot on the heels of cases of Kenyans who are losing millions to travel agents in Nairobi who are claiming they can take them to Canada for work.
Things you must know before you move abroad for money
Agents are not legally licensed by the Canadian government to operate as immigration consultants. To get around this, many have been assuming the identities of the applicants while applying.
There have also been claims of defrauded applicants who have been banned for up to five years from Canada because their agents used fake bank statements in their applications.
There is also no guarantee of getting Canadian visas as purported by agents within Nairobi.
In one of the charges, they are said to have defrauded Lawrence Karithi Banu Sh. 2 million through pretext that they were in a position to secure jobs for Richard Ayoma and June Eileen.
They also scammed Eveline Kanana Gikundi Sh. 800,000 by falsely pretending they would secure her a job in Canada.
In the case, Nyokabi was separately charged with obtaining Sh. 12million from 26 relatives of jobseekers alleging she would secure jobs in Canada.
Nyokabi was accused of defrauding Judy Mbuya Njue Sh. 1,164,000 between March 1 and May 31, 2023 after claiming that she was in a position to help her travel to Canada and secure her a lucrative job.
