Some Kenyans abroad refuse rescue despite staying illegally, top govt official says
By Kenneth Mwenda, February 12, 2026Principal Secretary for Diaspora Affairs, Roseline Kathure Njogu, has revealed that some Kenyans who overstayed their visas, particularly in India, are refusing to return home, even after the government secured a special waiver removing financial penalties.
In an interview on a radio station on Thursday, February 12, 2026, she explained the government’s efforts to help citizens abroad. She visited India in 2024 and met many Kenyans whose visas had lapsed.
“We negotiated, um, uh, what do you call it, a penalties waiver with India because a number of Kenyans had gone to India, overstayed their visas, and their visas lapsed,” she said.
PS Njogu highlighted the dangers overstayers face.
“Now once you’re in a country beyond your visa, you become, um, vulnerable. You’re there illegally, and you’re vulnerable. Now you’re vulnerable to trafficking; you’re vulnerable to all kinds of things. You can be arrested. Even here we arrest visa overstayers and so on,” she added.
The waiver, secured through the Kenya High Commission in New Delhi, cancels the heavy fines overstayers would otherwise have to pay.
“So basically you don’t have to pay the thousands of rupees that you should pay to be allowed to leave the country, right? So you can, uh, it’s basically, uh, a get-out-of-jail-free card,” Njogu said. “The penalties are waived, yes, that’s what I mean. The penalty is waived, so now all you need to do is buy your ticket and go home.”
The High Commission reached out to Kenyans on their list using calls, texts, and WhatsApp messages. “We got in touch with them here. We even offered tickets to a number of them. Yes, offer tickets. We offer tickets to a number of them. I will get you out because I know if you continue to stay there, you are going to be vulnerable,” she said.
Despite these efforts, some Kenyans refused to return.
“There are Kenyans who quite simply refused to move,” Njogu noted.
Licensed agents not trafficking
She also addressed human trafficking concerns. PS Njogu firmly stated that licensed recruitment agents do not traffic Kenyans to countries such as Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, or Russia.
“There is not a single Kenyan who has been taken to Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, or Russia by a licensed recruitment agent. Not one. Not one,” she said.
Since taking office in December 2022, the ministry has revoked licences for roughly 700 rogue agencies.
“We went on a serious cleanup activity. About 700 agencies lost their licence,” Njogu said. “So when we have bad manners, it is now not in the house, so to speak. It is not the agents who are licensed who are trafficking people who are doing these things.”
She admitted that some licensed agents might still fall short on contract terms or rapid support. However, major trafficking cases involve outsiders pretending to be agents.
The risks abroad remain high. Recent reports show that some Kenyans have been recruited to fight in Ukraine for Russia under false job promises. The Defence Intelligence of Ukraine confirmed the deaths of two Kenyans, Ombwori Denis Bagaka and Wahome Simon Gititu, near Lyman in Donetsk.
They had been recruited in Qatar and sent to Russia before being deployed to the Donbas region.
“Recruitment networks remain active in both Kenya and Russia,” said Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi.
President William Ruto has noted that between 300 and 500 Kenyan youths leave the country weekly for overseas jobs, most in the Middle East, Europe, and parts of Asia.
While the government has signed bilateral agreements to protect workers and remove financial barriers, challenges persist. Some Kenyans remain vulnerable to fraud, unsafe work conditions, and, in extreme cases, being lured into conflict zones.