Kenyan job seekers have been cautioned against sending money to criminals who promise them jobs in the military or the police service.
This came after officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) busted a racketeering syndicate that has been obtaining millions of shillings from unsuspecting job seekers on promise that thy can offer them jobs in the prison.
The police arrested Grace Nyamohanga, alias ‘Nasra’, a Senior Sergeant at Lang’ata Women Prison, for running the syndicate and swindling job-seekers over Ksh200 million, in 10 months.
According to the detectives, the rogue prison warder runs a mafia-like organization that recruits helpless job seekers, with the promise of job opportunities in top government parastatals & government security agencies including,Kenya Defence Forces, National Intelligence Service & the National Police Service.
The DCI said in a statement thus: “Among the dozens of fake offer letters in our possession that were seized from her house, the suspects have recruited job-seekers from across all levels of education and academic disciplines including graduates in Mathematics, Computer Science and Microbiology among others.
One such victim who was a woman from Kiambu county who was swindled over Ksh800,000 with the promise that her three children would be offered job opportunities at the National Hospital Insurance Fund, Nairobi Metropolitan Services and the Kenya Ports Authority.
She was also offered appointment letters inviting her respective children to the said institutions, to take up positions that had allegedly fallen vacant.
However, she became jittery on the authenticity of the appointments when the suspect called twice to postpone the reporting dates, citing Covid-19 restrictions. This prompted her to report the matter to detectives.
In January this year, the suspects had in a well coordinated and orchestrated plot, recruited over 60 job-seekers who were offered forged letters of appointment, inviting them to join the Kenya Airports Authority.
The victims, who each parted with colossal sums of money ranging from Ksh300,000 to Ksh400,000 depending on one’s level of education, were even driven to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, ostensibly to familiarize themselves with what would be their new work environment.
They were also addressed by a suspect who posed as the Human Resource Manager. Later, they were driven to a high-end facility overlooking the Nairobi National Park, along Mombasa road, where they were treated to a sumptuous meal. Afterwards, they were asked to go home and report on March 18. That was last time the victims heard from the them.
Further investigations reveal that the suspect has been working in cahoots with fellow Prison Warders who lure desperate job-seekers into the trap, obtain money from them and remit the same to Nasra.
One such warder collected a total of Ksh19 million while another warder who is a driver collected over Sh5.7 Million. Dejected victims have since been trooping to our headquarters, to file reports detailing how they unbelievably fell for the tricksters machinations.
Meanwhile, detectives have also broadened their scope of investigations, to establish the suspect’s link to money laundering, after fake U.S dollars amounting to Ksh2.4 million were also recovered from her house, at the Industrial Area G.K Prison staff quarters. Two suspects have since been arrested while the main suspect Kenya Prison’s Senior Sergeant Grace Nyamohanga alias ‘Nasra’ is still at large.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations invited Kenyans who submitted their academic documents, birth certificates, identification cards and other documents to the fraudsters, to present themselves at the DCI headquarters, Serious Crimes Unit and file their reports.
The DCI said: “Should you have further information that may assist us in arresting all those involved in this syndicate, kindly call us anonymously on 0800 722 203.”