A young woman from Cherangany, Trans Nzoia County, is facing heartbreak and poverty after falling victim to an elaborate job scam that promised her a bright future in Canada.
Cynthia Chemutai had pinned her hopes on a promised overseas job that required her family to sell a piece of ancestral land.
They raised Ksh 1.2 million from the sale, with Chemutai sending Ksh 880,000 via M-Pesa to a man who claimed he was arranging travel and work opportunities in Canada.
The alleged agent convinced her family that jobs were readily available and that he had helped others secure employment abroad.
Trusting his word, they handed over the cash only to be met with silence, fake documents, and endless excuses.
Years later, Chemutai is still in Kenya, jobless and struggling.
The supposed travel company, reportedly linked to a man named Isaac Barmasai, has yet to be held accountable.
Victims now accuse authorities of dragging their feet, despite complaints being made over two years ago.
Chemutai now lives with regret and anguish. Her once promising journey turned into a nightmare that left her family in debt and stripped of their only property.
In a heartbreaking interview, she said she is willing to sell her kidney to recover the money and repay her father.
The case has once again cast a spotlight on the growing number of Kenyans falling prey to fake overseas job scams, many of whom are still waiting for justice that seems too slow to come.
