Kenyans subjected to forced labour, sexual abuse in Asia

 Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi /OPCS

Thousands of Kenyans are smuggled annually to the Middle East and far East countries where some of them are subjected into sexual exploitation and forced labour.

The Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs says hundreds have been rescued from some of the countries that include India, Cambodia, Thailand, Mynamar, Laos, Qatar and the Russian Federation.

Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi on Thursday told a senate committee that for instance, women are lured to India to ostensibly work in beauty industry only to end up in brothels where they are held hostage.

In March/April 2025, the government through State Department for Diaspora Affairs and Counter Trafficking in Persons Secretariat repatriated 158 Kenyans from Myanmar at government expense.

“Kenyan women are trafficked to India under the guise of legitimate jobs in hospitality or beauty industry. However, they end up being sexually exploited and are held under debt bondage until they pay off their captors. 263 Kenyan victims have so far been repatriated from India,” he said.

Mudavadi told the senators inquiring into cases of fraudulent recruitment and labour exploitation affecting Kenyan workers abroad, his ministry has recorded a marked escalation in fraudulent recruitment and labour exploitation of Kenyan nationals abroad, reflecting a shift towards increasingly organised, transnational, and technology-driven exploitation networks.

The State Department for Diaspora Affairs Mudavadi said continues to receive disturbing cases of Kenyans being smuggled to Gulf countries, particularly Qatar and Dubai, through rogue agents who exploit weak oversight and vulnerabilities of Kenyans, exposing victims to exploitation and abuse upon arrival.

He warned that Kenyan nationals seeking to cross over to Europe through the sea are increasingly being trafficked through dangerous irregular routes via the Moyale border, transiting through Sudan into Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, or Morocco a high-risk corridor associated with severe exploitation, violence, human rights abuses and death

“These cases demonstrate a convergence of human trafficking, recruitment by rogue agencies, and deceptive job offers. All these pose a risk to national security,” the PCS added.

According to his data, from 2022 to 2026, more than 751 Kenyans have been rescued from the ‘Golden Triangle’ Region (Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand).

About 615 have been repatriated, 39 were imprisoned in Myanmar for illegal entry and for being repeat offenders in cybercrime. About 97 who crossed to Thailand are in the Immigration Detention Centre Thailand awaiting deportation.

In Cambodia, from January to April 2026, 393 Kenyans have been rescued, 304 have successfully been repatriated and the remaining are in the process of being repatriated as more others continue to leave the scam compounds while in Laos (Lao PDR) 29 Kenyans have been repatriated to date.

For Thailand, Kenyan women are mostly trafficked for sexual exploitation as it is also used as a transit corridor for scam workers being trafficked to Myanmar, Laos or Cambodia.

Fourteen Kenyans have been imprisoned for bearing forged immigration stamps obtained at border points by their traffickers. This happens when they travel through Malaysia and transported to Myanmar through Thailand by road.

“Over time, three Kenyans have reportedly lost their lives in the scam compounds due to illness, while one lady passed on after a forced abortion,” he said.

“Southeast Asia (Golden Triangle - Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos,Thailand) and India: This region has emerged as a major hub for trafficking for sexual exploitation of women, or forced criminality into cybercrime-driven activities.”

One hundred and sixty two Kenyans were reportedly smuggled to the State of Qatar by unscrupulous unregistered agencies based in Kenya and Qatar. Many of them returned back home while others settled for alternative jobs.

The Foreign CS told the Senators that so far ten Kenyans have been killed in Ukraine whole fighting for Russia while 47 have been rescued and retuned home.

“The ministry has documented 252 reported cases of Kenyans who enlisted in the Russian special forces, 47 of them have successfully been repatriated, while 10 death cases have been reported by families, though officially unverified.”

The PCS attributed the rise in illegal recruitments and smuggling to fraudulent online job advertisements through social media (Facebook, Telegram, WhatsApp, Tiktok etc), job websites and referrals by friends.

The agencies offer opportunities in areas like IT, Customer care, Crypto trading, Data Entry and Casino. The salaries offered are lucrative.

The recruiters abuse Tourist visa to mask the true intention of travel for employment as the victims are assisted to apply for visas using forged bank statements, hotel bookings and return tickets which are cancelled immediately they land in the country of destination.

The Ministry of Labour has enhanced its oversight on recruitment agencies leading to suspension of more than 600 agencies for non-compliance with recruitment protocols.

“The list of legitimate and suspended agencies is publicly displayed on the National Employment Authority website for access by the public and NEA has also tightened the recruitment process through the vetting committee,” Mudavadi said.