IllustrationKenya convicted six human traffickers in 2025, down from 21 in the previous year, despite identifying more victims and stepping up efforts to assist Kenyans exploited in forced labour abroad, a United States report says.
The 2026 Trafficking in Persons Report by the US Department of State retained Kenya in Tier 2, a category for countries that do not fully meet the minimum standards for eliminating human trafficking but are making significant efforts to do so.
The report credited the government with identifying significantly more trafficking victims, expanding partnerships with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and repatriating Kenyan nationals exploited in online scam operations in Southeast Asia.
However, it raised concerns about declining prosecutions and convictions, alleged official complicity in trafficking crimes and limited protection services, particularly for adult victims.
“The government decreased anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts,” the report said in its assessment of prosecutions.
In 2025, Kenya investigated 43 trafficking cases, compared with 42 in 2024. The cases included 13 involving sex trafficking, 11 involving labour trafficking and 19 involving unspecified forms of trafficking.
The government prosecuted 14 cases during the reporting period, compared with 44 in 2024. It also reported 103 ongoing prosecutions.
Of the six traffickers convicted under the Counter-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2010, five were convicted of sex trafficking and one of forced labour.
Two sex traffickers received 30-year prison sentences, while three were sentenced to 20 years. The person convicted of labour trafficking received a 10-year sentence.
The report noted that the government had continued reviewing proposed amendments to the 2010 law to remove the option of imposing a fine instead of imprisonment for sex trafficking. However, the amendments had not been approved for the fifth consecutive reporting period.
The law prescribes penalties ranging from 30 years to life imprisonment, a fine of at least Sh30 million, or both. The report said the penalties were sufficiently stringent but were not commensurate with those for other grave crimes, such as rape, because fines could be imposed in lieu of imprisonment for sex trafficking.
Concerns over alleged official involvement
Allegations of corruption and official complicity remained a major concern, with the report noting that such concerns hindered law enforcement efforts and the identification of victims.
The government investigated three officials over allegations that they accepted bribes to facilitate potential trafficking crimes involving migrant workers travelling to the Middle East.
Observers also alleged that criminal syndicates colluded with law enforcement and some officials at border checkpoints and airports to transport trafficking victims into and within Kenya.
Media reports cited by the assessment indicated that more than 10 per cent of government officials held ownership interests in private employment agencies, including firms sending migrant workers to Saudi Arabia, raising potential conflicts of interest.
The report also cited media accounts alleging that some officials demanded sex or cash payments from women seeking assistance to escape abusive employers and return home.
More victims identified and assisted
Kenya recorded an increase in the number of trafficking victims identified, from 195 in the previous reporting period to 271 in 2025.
Of those identified, 260 were victims of forced labour and 11 were victims of sex trafficking. Another 1,021 people were identified as potential trafficking victims.
Thirty-five of the identified victims were foreign nationals from Nepal, Nigeria and Somalia.
The government referred 44 victims to services, compared with none in the previous reporting period. Through partnerships with NGOs, it provided services to 483 victims, up from 321 previously.
The services included shelter, healthcare, counselling, legal assistance and repatriation support.
The government also funded the voluntary repatriation of hundreds of Kenyans exploited abroad, primarily in online scam operations in Southeast Asia.
However, the report said support for adult victims remained limited. Many accessed services through broader protection programmes, including those addressing violence against women and girls or child protection, rather than services specifically designed for trafficking survivors.
Shelter access for adult men was particularly limited, with some referred to homeless shelters and others reportedly left without accommodation.
The government allocated Sh9.27 million from the National Assistance Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking for direct assistance, down from Sh20 million in the previous year.
The report also noted that plans to expand the government-operated trafficking victims' shelter to accommodate up to 60 people had been delayed by funding shortfalls.
Online scams and deceptive overseas recruitment
The assessment highlighted the growing threat of forced labour linked to online scam operations, particularly in Southeast Asia.
Traffickers reportedly used social media, smartphone applications and fraudulent job advertisements to lure Kenyans aged 18 to 38 with promises of well-paying jobs in technology, education and hospitality.
Upon arrival in Thailand, victims were transported to neighbouring countries, including Burma, Malaysia and Laos, where they were subjected to exploitative working and living conditions and forced to participate in online scams or sex trafficking.
The government increased investigations into suspected traffickers and recruitment agencies linked to these operations. The Directorate of Criminal Investigations also reported closing a scam centre run by Chinese nationals that employed 150 Kenyans in the country's coastal region.
The report said the government had launched awareness campaigns on online scams and forced criminality and spent Sh4.57 million on trafficking prevention, compared with no prevention funding reported in the previous year.
The National Employment Authority oversaw more than 500 licensed recruitment agencies and provided ethics training to 140 agencies. It also maintained an online portal through which Kenyans could search and apply for pre-vetted overseas employment opportunities.
Despite these measures, observers reported that some workers continued to incur recruitment fees or indirect costs, even though regulations prohibit agencies from charging workers recruitment fees.
Migrant workers remain vulnerable
The report said more than 500,000 Kenyans were estimated to be working in the Middle East, many as domestic workers.
It highlighted concerns about recruitment practices and working conditions in Saudi Arabia, where some Kenyan women were reportedly misled about wages, signed contracts they could not read and subsequently experienced severe physical and emotional abuse by employers.
Media reports cited in the assessment indicated that at least 274 Kenyan migrant workers, mostly women, had died in Saudi Arabia over the preceding five years. At least 55 deaths were reported in 2024, twice the number recorded in the previous year.
Other vulnerable groups include children exposed to domestic servitude, agriculture and informal labour, as well as refugees and migrants facing limited economic opportunities.
The report said Kenya hosted more than 854,000 refugees and asylum-seekers, primarily in Kakuma Refugee Camp and the Dadaab Refugee Complex. Restrictions on movement and limited access to education and livelihoods increased their vulnerability to trafficking.
It also identified risks affecting women recruited to India through false job offers and Kenyan men allegedly deceived into joining the Russian military.
The assessment said Kenya continued implementing its 2022-2027 National Action Plan against trafficking and training law enforcement officials. However, it noted that some officers still lacked sufficient understanding of trafficking laws and investigative techniques.
The report concluded that, although Kenya had increased victim identification, assistance and prevention efforts, gaps in prosecution, accountability and specialised protection services continued to undermine the country's response to human trafficking.
