Sometime late last year, in the heart of Nairobi, under the dusty skies and the hustle of city life, Kenyan job seekers gathered outside recruitment agencies.

The heat of the midday sun reflected the heat of their frustrations—frustrations that had been simmering for months, maybe even years. The promise of a job in Qatar, the dream of a better life, was within reach, but each day felt like it was slipping further away.

The thousands of job seekers had responded to an announcement by Labour Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua about the job openings in Qatar.

In October 2024, the recruitment venues — Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) and the Kabete Polytechnic  — were thronged with thousands of desperate Kenyans who turned up for interviews for jobs in the hospitality, service, construction and technical industries.

Mutua joined the recruitment agents to oversee the three-day interviews, with an assurance to all candidates that they would not be required to pay for travel expenses or interview fees, save for processing and personal documents fees such as medical certificates and passports.

As such, job seekers were to part with Sh55,000 to facilitate the process.

But over time, the dream has started to look more like a mirage. It has been months of waiting, endless paperwork and promises by the recruitment agencies that seem just out of reach. The agencies keep changing goal posts and demanding more cash. The delay is agonising.

What seemed as the only hope for many young job seekers, is now turning out to be a frustrating, unresolved, and depressing ordeal for many applicants.

A good number of the youth have expressed their frustrations with the government and are now questioning why it has initiated a second recruitment even before the people who were shortlisted in the first lot have left the country for Qatar.

Taken in circles

According to those who had been shortlisted in the first lot, their complaints, cries, follow-ups, and demands for refunds seem to be falling on deaf ears. They said one of the recruitment agencies called Mallow seems to be “taking them in circles.”

One of the successful applicants, Stephen Kariuki, narrated how he has been made to wait for four months to travel to Qatar, despite getting a letter in December offering him a position as an operator in a Plant, Machinery and Vehicles (PMW) firm.

“I passed the interview to be an operator and received my offer letter in November 2024. After getting the green light, I did all the documentations that the agency and government required of us. I got my passports, went for medical tests, and paid a commission of Sh 55,000 , which included Sh15,000 for medical tests,” says Kariuki.

His offer letter from PMV, indicates that there is no reason for the government authorities to refuse Kariuki an entry visa, work permit, or resident permit.

It further says that he can take employment as soon as his entry visa is issued or on the mutually agreed upon joining date.

“We are pleased to tender our offer for the position of Forklift Operator under PMV,” reads part of his offer letter dated 11/11/ 2024.

However, after completing all the processes, he, alongside others shortlisted for the operator’s job, were notified that their travel date to Qatar was scheduled for December 6, 2024. which did not happen after the agency postponed the date to December 12, then rescheduled it to December 13, and later to December 17.

“The only update we received in January this year was from an official from the ministry who told us to either be patient or withdraw our money from Mallow. But withdrawing the money is a herculean task. And even if you are refunded, you are given less money as they deduct Sh18,000 which they claim was for the medical tests,” says an angry Kariuki.

He noted that after sensing that he was not getting any assistance, they went to Mutua’a office late last month, only to be advised to visit other agencies recommended by the ministry to start the whole application process afresh.

“They told us to withdraw from Mallow and start a new process with them which requires us to pay some new amount of money as well as undergoing a new interview,” says Kariuki.

He observes that his life has been reduced to nothing as he had taken a loan from a shylock to facilitate payments for the first process. His piling debts has seen the shylock take his bike, which was his only source of income.

“The way things are unravelling and considering the fact that the government has announced a fresh round of recruitment before the people who were shortlisted in the first batch depart for Qatar, we feel duped,” he said.

Another applicant, Moses Mugo, also suffered a similar fate.

He said that he applied for the post of Steel Fixer and received an offer letter, approving his travel to Qatar.

“I sold my younger brother’s cow and took some loans here and there to pay the commission fees. Now, I have been left stranded after spending Sh90,000 and heavily indebted,” he lamented, noting that his relationship with his family is now strained.

Stephen Mwangi, 32, had also applied for the position of a construction helper and is now crying foul play.

He disclosed that he sold everything in anticipation of his departure to Qatar for the new job.

However, his hopes and plans have not yet come to fruition and has since relocated from Nairobi to upcountry.

“I sold everything, my wife and children even left me because I could no longer support them. I have been frequenting the offices of the recruitment agency to follow up on the issue but every time, we are only being told to wait or withdraw money from Mallow. I have nothing and life is really tough. I don’t think that adding them to Sh35,000 will help anything . I just wish they could give us the jobs they promised,” Mwangi complained.

Right attitude

On its part, the ministry acknowledges that there have been some delays in dispatching the first batch of the applicants to Qatar.

According to Dr Mutua, the applicants will travel to Qatar in batches based on the employers’ needs.

“Kenyans previously recruited for jobs in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Germany, and other destinations will still travel as per the schedule set by their employment companies based on client’s needs and urgency. An employer cannot be forced to take you in before they are ready because you feel you have waited too long,” said the CS in a statement.

He further explained that those who feel impatient should request for a refund which would be subjected to deductions due to the medical and processing costs that were already incurred.

Mutua insisted that, “only candidates with the right attitude and work ethic will be cleared for overseas jobs to ensure they uphold professionalism and do not jeopardize future opportunities for others.”

Regarding the ongoing recruitment, an official from the Ministry who requested anonymity observed that the exercise is being conducted by other agents and hence those who had qualified under the first lot cannot be considered as they had already been placed in October .

He however assured that though some lot of those shortlisted had already travelled to Qatar, the government and travel agencies are working on modalities to ensure that all successful applicants travel albeit in batches.

“Areas like construction for instance, is a domain that requires people to travel in batches. We are waiting for the employers to signal us when ready for us to allow all those who qualified to leave for Qatar,” the official said as he assured that the ministry is keen to ensure all applicants get their slots.

But as the days turn into weeks and weeks into months, the question that remains is: How long will they keep waiting?