From hope to shattered dreams: Inside Sh72.8m Kazi Majuu scam

Detectives say a controversial Dubai job order opened the door to a web of alleged deception, money laundering and abuse of office. [Courtesy]

What began as a government-backed promise to lift Kenyan youth into overseas employment has unravelled into a criminal investigation over the alleged loss of Sh72.8 million, leaving 364 young people burdened with loans for jobs that never materialised.

At the centre of the unfolding scandal is the Kazi Majuu programme, run under the Ministry of Labour, and a controversial Dubai job order that detectives say opened the door to a web of alleged deception, money laundering and abuse of office.

Four individuals, Rahma Ochieng Pacho, Rachael Njoki Kariuki, Vincent Oyugi Omondi and Samuel Kibuti Njue, now stand accused of conspiracy to defraud, as detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) race to piece together how millions of shillings in public funds allegedly disappeared, leaving hundreds of hopeful Kenyan youth stranded and jobless.

The case traces its roots to early 2025, when the Ministry of Labour rolled out recruitment drives targeting young people in coastal counties, including Malindi, Kwale, Mombasa, Kilifi and Mambrui.

For many young Kenyans from struggling households, the programme appeared to offer a rare lifeline, an opportunity to escape unemployment and access better-paying jobs abroad.

The promise was alluring, with 1,075 employment opportunities in Dubai, a destination that has absorbed thousands of Kenyan migrant workers over the years.

The recruitment exercise was conducted by Zawadi Jobs Abroad Limited, whose director is Rahma Achieng Pacho, in partnership with what was presented as a legitimate Dubai-based employer, Saif Business Services Centre.

However, court filings suggest that the entire operation was built on questionable ground from the outset.

According to documents filed by the DCI at the Milimani Chief Magistrate’s Court yesterday, investigators are scrutinising a job demand order dated February 24, 2025, allegedly issued by Saif Business Services Centre, a company said to be based in the United Arab Emirates.

The document is also alleged to have been attested by the Kenyan Consulate in Dubai, a claim investigators are now seeking to independently verify as part of the ongoing probe.

Chief Inspector Leah Ambiche, the lead investigator from County CID Headquarters–Nairobi, stated in an affidavit that the scheme began when married couple Rachael Njoki Kariuki and Vincent Oyugi Omondi approached Achieng with an unusual proposition.

“She alleged that the two individuals, namely Rachael Njoki Kariuki and Vincent Oyugi Omondi, being the second and third respondents, approached her with a request that they had not renewed their licence with the National Employment Authority (NEA) but had a job demand from Dubai that required 1,075 individuals,” the affidavit reads.

Despite this red flag — the admission that their NEA licence had lapsed — the partnership moved forward.

The court heard that Achieng, perhaps driven by the opportunity to break into the skilled labour recruitment market to Dubai for the first time, eventually agreed.

“After several persuasion sessions by the second and third respondents, who are wife and husband, and also considering that the first respondent was recruiting skilled labourers to Dubai for the first time, she agreed and uploaded the job demand letter from Saif Business Services Centre in her Zawadi Jobs Abroad Limited portal with NEA,” CI Ambiche told the court.

That decision, investigators say, became the gateway to the alleged fraud.

The Ministry of Labour subsequently conducted recruitment drives across the coastal region, including Malindi, Kwale, Mombasa, Kilifi and Mambrui.

However, many of the eager applicants could not afford the fees required for processing, visa applications and air tickets, the essential costs of turning their Dubai dreams into reality.

According to the DCI, the suspects then sought financing for the candidates through the Youth Fund under the Kazi Majuu platform.

Enter the government’s Kazi Majuu platform, specifically designed to bridge this gap through soft loans from the Youth Fund.

The programme was meant to be a hand up, not a handout, loans that young Kenyans would repay once they were earning salaries abroad.

Money trail

By the end of July 2025, the Government had approved and disbursed Sh72.8 million in loans to 364 candidates, all with Equity Bank accounts specially set up for the programme, each hoping the funds would cover visas, air tickets and job placement costs.

What happened next, according to investigators, transformed hope into alleged criminality. Court documents reveal a systematic diversion of funds that detectives say was choreographed among the four suspects.

Investigators told the court that once the 364 candidates received their loan disbursements, the entire sum was allegedly transferred to Zawadi Jobs Abroad Limited’s Equity Bank account. From there, the money allegedly followed a pre-arranged sharing structure.

The affidavit details how Achieng informally entered into an agreement with Omondi and Kariuki, assigning each company a role.

Glorivin International, associated with Omondi, was designated to handle visa processing. Between August 27 and 28, 2025, the company received Sh13,504,133 in transfers to its Kingdom Bank account.

Taushi Tours & Travel Ltd, linked to Kariuki, was assigned air ticket processing. The firm’s Family Bank account received Sh10,924,133 in multiple transfers between August 6 and 26, 2025.

Together, the two companies absorbed more than Sh24 million of the youth fund money.

Perhaps the most damaging evidence comes from what investigators describe as admissions made by Kariuki herself. “Kariuki admitted to having used the amounts transferred to her company’s account for personal obligations, including clearing her child’s school fees arrears and settling a loan owed to a shylock,” CI Ambiche told the court.

According to the court filing, Kariuki later attempted to make amends by transferring money back to Achieng through M-Pesa between July 1, 2025, and January 20, 2026, raising further suspicions of laundering and concealment.

The court heard that “the respondents agreed on a plan on how to share the youth money disbursed from the Youth Fund, while not using it for the intended purpose.”

While millions allegedly changed hands among the suspects, the 364 young Kenyans who believed they were bound for Dubai remained grounded, their dreams deferred indefinitely.

“The candidates’ promised overseas jobs never materialised. The youth did not travel,” the detective told Chief Magistrate Lucas Onyina.

The cruel irony of their situation is stark: the youths are now expected to repay government loans for opportunities they never received, jobs they never held, and salaries they never earned. “This is a public interest case where the Government has lost taxpayers’ money to the tune of Sh72.8 million, which was meant to better the livelihoods of Kenyan youth through the Kazi Majuu platform,” CI Ambiche emphasised.

“These youths did not travel as envisioned and are expected to repay the loans advanced to them by the Government through the Youth Fund, yet they have not benefitted in any way,” she added.

The four suspects were arrested on January 22 and 23, 2026, and booked at Capitol Hill Police Station.

DCI detectives presented them in court seeking 14 days’ custodial orders to complete investigations, including authenticating key documents such as the Dubai job demand order dated February 24, 2025, allegedly issued by Saif Business Services Centre and attested by the Kenyan Consulate in Dubai.

“We seek custodial orders to detain them for 14 days, access bank and mobile money records, conduct forensic analysis of mobile phones and computers, and authenticate the disputed Dubai job order,” the DCI urged.