Prison jobs up for sale: How parents were defrauded millions in Kenya Prisons bribery scam

Hundreds of youths turned up for the Kenya Prisons Services officers' recruitment in the newly established Usigu sub-county but were turned away due to lack of required documents. [Isaiah Gwengi, Standard]. It has emerged that Kenyans were conned out of millions of shillings during the recent recruitment of cadet officers, technicians, artisans and prison constables by the Kenya Prisons Service (KPS). The revelation came after an X user named Wanjiru, on Thursday, posted a complaint from a parent who lost Sh250,000 in the process but did not secure the job. Also on the same day, President William Ruto's Economic Advisor, Moses Kuria, raised concerns on his X account, saying some recruits had paid as much as Sh500,000 to get the jobs. "I am getting disturbing reports that candidates who were recruited for the Kenya Prisons Wardens jobs paid a bribe of KSh500,000 each. This is not good. It's immoral. It's not worth it," posted Kuria. Held on 30 April, the nationwide exercise attracted thousands of young applicants aged between 18 and 30, eager for a chance to serve in the country's correctional services. In a thread on Wanjiru's X timeline, the victim's friend narrated how the bribery scheme unfolded. "Hi Wanjiru,It's a sad day for my friend and many parents whose sons and daughters were promised a bright future by the main recruiting officer at Kenya Prisons.This officer took Sh250,000 from my friend, who wanted his son to join the Kenya Prisons during the ongoing recruitment. There were six of them - each gave Sh250,000 to this officer.The officer then sent them a copy of an admission letter with one of the sons' names, and the parents believed it.He also sent a list of items to buy. The parents spent Sh25,000 on shopping - including a large metal box, military boots, a jembe, tracksuits, and other items typically needed for training.The training was to take place in Ruiru, where the recruits would stay for nine months.Shopping done and Sh25,000 spent, the officer told them he would pick up the six children at Landmawe at 11am.But on the day, he switched off his phone, leaving the parents and their children stranded with their metal boxes and shopping.I know there are many other parents who were conned, and this must not be allowed to continue." The Saturday Standard traced several victims - mostly parents - who narrated how someone they knew defrauded them of millions. Jane (not her real name), the parent of one of the victims, said she lost Sh250,000. She narrated how, together with about seven other parents, she was duped into sending money to a man identified as John Ochieng Gojah, using phone numbers 0720785125 and 0758311288, both of which are currently unreachable. "It was someone we knew through a friend. He was working at Jogoo House Wing B as a police officer. He used to appear during recruitments and had even helped some children get into the National Youth Service (NYS) recently," she said. Together with over ten other parents, they paid Ochieng between Sh200,000 and Sh250,000 each via M-Pesa last month, after he sent them a recruitment letter and a list of requirements, which cost them an additional Sh25,000 each. Jane, a civil servant in the Ministry of Interior and Coordination based in Nairobi, said the recruitment letter appeared genuine and convinced them to pay. "After waiting from 9am to 12pm with his phone off, we gave up and went back home, knowing we had been conned. He now switches his phone on and off. When you try to call, you receive a 'You attempted to call me' message," she said. Jane also introduced her sister-in-law to Ochieng. Her sister-in-law's son, who had just left NYS, was also hoping to join the KPS. Together, they paid Sh500,000. Jane said she raised the money by taking a loan. "We really failed our children. My in-law's son is still jobless and now lives with a friend. We want justice. If our children can't get the jobs, he should refund the money. We struggled to raise that money and it has done nothing for them," she said. Another parent, George (not his real name), also a civil servant and clerk in the same Ministry, shared a similar experience. "We believed he was a police officer. He used to visit us and had helped some parents get their children into NYS last year. That's how trust developed," he said. George said Ochieng used to visit them at their workplace at Harambee House, especially when one of their cousins was involved in an accident. "In January this year, I told him I was about to retire and had tried to get my children jobs with no success. He told me to prepare for the next Administration Police (AP) recruitment," said George. Later, Ochieng told him City Council askaris were being recruited and offered to help, but George declined because his son did not want that job. "When KPS announced vacancies this year, he told me this was the chance for my son. He said others were paying between Sh300,000 and Sh500,000, but since we were friends, he would take only Sh200,000. I told him I had two children and could not afford Sh400,000," George said. "He told me to give him Sh200,000, and after the children were taken, I could add the rest. I took a loan and gave him the money. He took my child's details." But on the day the children were to be picked up at Landmawe, near Kenya Railways, Ochieng switched off his phone, and the parents realised they had been scammed. George said Ochieng had more than three phone numbers. When George called using his own line, he was blocked. But when another parent called, the phone rang. "When he picked, I asked him why he was not showing up. He started asking who I was and how he could help me. When he realised it was me, he hung up and switched off his phone. We have reported him to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), who are now tracing him," George said. He added that another parent, Mr Onyango, who works at the University of Nairobi, also lost Sh200,000. When contacted, Onyango confirmed being conned. He said they later found out that Ochieng was a former police officer, possibly interdicted in 2022. National Police Service Spokesperson, Michael Muchiri, said it is up to the affected parents to report the matter to police stations so that it can be investigated. "That is a crook. We can only act if there are reported cases. As it stands, it is difficult to intervene since the person is said to be a former police officer," he said. Kenya Prisons Service Head of Communication, Chrisantus Makokha, said they had also seen complaints circulating on social media but had not received any formal reports from the relevant unit. "I'll consult the unit about it. However, as you know, the parents have also committed a crime - that of corruption - and may therefore be reluctant to file formal complaints," he said. Makokha added: "We published adverts in national newspapers indicating the official recruitment centres. Any parent being asked to report elsewhere should know it is suspicious. The letters of successful recruits are issued only at the official recruitment centres - not anywhere else. Parents must be vigilant."

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