Police in Nakuru hunt for 'nurse' offering youths fake jobs

Detectives are looking for a woman who has been giving desperate job seekers fake employment letters at a fee.

The woman who masquerades as a nurse allegedly conned three youths of Sh20,000 after giving them the letters, which she claimed were from the Ministry of Health.

The suspect is said to to have been sighted regularly at Rift Valley Provincial General Hospital (RVPGH) in Nakuru dressed in nurses' uniform.

The Standard has seen text messages exchanged between the suspect and her victims as well as M-Pesa transactions before the fake appointment letters were issued. The victims were promised jobs in various hospitals within Nakuru County.

David Kagai, a trained nutritionist, is among the victims of the jobs' scam. Mr Kagai left home in Mbale, Vihiga County on October 3 after a relative informed him that he had secured a job for him through the woman at the RVPGH.

"She said Sh7,200 was for uniform and another Sh3,800 for a house. Through M-Pesa, I paid half of it with a promise to pay the balance later," said Kagai, whose appointment letter shows he was to earn Sh28,700 per month.

Kagai bid goodbye to his relatives in Mbale optimistic that his life and that of his family would change for the better.

"I reported on October 5 to the Human Resource Department at Rift Valley General Provincial Hospital. An officer there scrutinised the letter and was perplexed. She told me she was not aware of any new staff expected," Kagai said.

Nakuru resident Vincent Wanyama is another victim of the scandal. Mr Wanyama said he reported to Molo District Hospital on October 5 as directed.

"The receptionist there told me she would have received a communication from the Nakuru County Public Service Board informing her of new staff," said Wanyama.

He said he had borrowed Sh7,000 for the uniform and house and "was to pay the rest later".

"I am desperate for a job. Anyone like me is willing to go an extra mile to get a job. The pain of hustling for years to get a job blinded me in this deal," he said.

Victor Ochieng travelled to Nakuru from his Kisumu home after he also fell victim to the con woman.

Tom Liyengwa, who linked one of the victims to suspect, said he knows her as a medical worker having schooled with her in secondary school.

RVPGH Deputy Nursing Officer, Edward Muhavi, took journalists to various departments where nurses who were shown the suspect's photograph said she looked familiar.

Police said the last time they tracked the suspect through her mobile phone she was in Nyamira.