More than 100 Kenyan citizens who trusted offers of highly paid overseas work are stranded in Cambodia, some for months, facing difficult conditions and urging Kenya’s government to intervene quickly. Kenya’s Daily Nation reported that after travelling through recruitment agents, they discovered the jobs were scams. Several said their freedom was restricted and they faced persistent threats and intimidation as their safety deteriorated.
Interviewed by the newspaper, 29-year-old Kenyan Nancy Akinyi said more than 100 Kenyans were confined together in a closed environment and could not move freely. She said she entered Cambodia on a tourist visa in May 2025 after an agent promised beauty and hairdressing work, only to find that the job did not exist. She also alleged that some compatriots had been beaten or sexually assaulted for refusing improper demands, that others had been injected with unidentified substances, and that threats of organ trafficking had been made, describing the situation as urgent.
Akinyi said she had repeatedly sought help from Kenya’s mission in Bangkok, Thailand, which handles consular protection for Cambodia, but had received no substantive assistance. Kenya’s foreign ministry diaspora affairs department confirmed that the case was being handled and that the Bangkok mission was coordinating with relevant local authorities. It reiterated the government’s concern for citizens’ safety abroad and warned against overseas recruitment schemes using tourist visas while promising conversion to work visas. Cambodia has continued to crack down on online scams and related illegal activities in recent years, and cases of foreigners unlawfully confined after false recruitment have been disclosed. The circumstances still require further investigation and verification.
Compiled report by KPS99TV
