By Ebi Kesiena
A 17-year-old minor from Uganda has been arrested for trafficking 170 youths into Kenya via a deceitful job scam.
Police spokesperson Fred Enanga confirmed the arrest on Tuesday.
According to the Police, the minor operated as an agent on behalf of his sister who is linked to a fake company in Kenya.
The student is said to have actively recruited numerous young individuals who expressed interest in obtaining fabricated jobs.
Some of the scam victims disclosed that they were required to make payments, with some being charged Sh3,901(USh100,000) and others Sh1,950(USh50,000) according to Citizen Digital.
The victims further disclosed that after making payments, they were housed in a residence located in Wakiso District, Uganda, awaiting transportation to Kenya.
Police said that the minor confessed to their involvement and will face 170 counts of human trafficking.
Enanga explained that during questioning, the minor confessed to his intention of extorting money from the victims under the guise of Humble Company.
“Upon interrogation, he admitted that he wanted to extort money from the victims using the name Humble Company in Kenya as a cover-up,”
He further revealed that there was no genuine connection between the company and the advertised job positions.
“There was no connection with the company and the job advert for waiters, waitresses, coffee parkers, and supermarket attendants in Kenya was fake,” he said as reported by Daily Monitor.
The apprehension came in the wake of the arrest of a 28-year-old woman who also operated as an agent.
The woman was reported to have sheltered youth in her home.
Neighbors raised concerns about the unusually large number of young people residing in her house leading to her arrest.
The student is currently being held at Kakiri police station while awaiting further legal action.
The incident underscored the urgency to combat human trafficking and highlighted the need for vigilance against fraudulent job schemes prevalent in Africa.
