Members of the Uasin Gishu County Assembly Adhoc Committee probing First Choice Recruitment Agency and County Finland Scholarship program on January 10, 2022, concluded receiving evidence from individuals that petitioned them over the matter.
Led by Reuben Chepses arap Koech, the locals had petitioned the County Assembly to probe the agency and the county scholarship program. The petitioners accuse the agency of receiving hundreds of thousands from job applicants but a majority of them never secured opportunities abroad.
But following the approval of their petitions, the MCAs formed an ad-hoc committee chaired by Ainabkoi/Olare MCA Gilbert Chepkong’a.
The committee invited the petitioners to argue their case and present their evidence on January 9 and 10, 2023.
“We presented our case for 9 hours on Monday and 8 hours on Tuesday,” Chepses told journalists outside the Uasin Gishu County Assembly.
“This is the first time we feel like there is finally hope for the victims of the agency and the county scholarship program,” he added.
Chepses was the running mate to the Uasin Gishu gubernatorial candidate Bundotich Zedekiah during the August 9 poll.
Streamline recruitment agencies
He says when appearing before the committee, they presented oral submissions and documentary evidence to back up their petitions.
However, he did not share more details about their presentations.
Human Rights activist Kimutai Kirui who has been incorporated in the petition as an interested party told journalists that they are seeking to ensure the sector is streamlined.
He points out that currently, recruitment agencies were taking advantage of Kenyans due to the sector being unregulated.
“Some people have used this issue of securing jobs for others abroad as a cash cow. We want to have laws even at the county level that will have the sector strengthened,” Kirui said.
The human rights activist notes that a majority of the youths that paid to get jobs in the Qatar world cup never travelled.
But while the First Choice Recruitment agency in December 2022 said they had started refunding applicants that did not secure jobs abroad, the Adhoc committee vice chairperson Francis Muya says they will be seeking to find out why they issued postdated cheques to victims.
The Langas MCA said they will be summoning directors of the agency to shed more light on claims made against them. The agency’s directors are expected to appear before the committee on January 19, 2023.
“The petitioners have revealed to us things that we did not know – some of them very shocking. But as of now, we cannot make conclusions. We will invite the other parties, after which we will make a decision,” noted the MCA.
Once it concludes its sittings, the committee is expected to draft a report that will include recommendations on the matter.
