Nairobi, April 7: The Kenyan government said Monday that it has successfully repatriated 153 citizens who were trafficked to scam compounds in Myanmar for forced criminal activities.
Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Roseline Njogu said these individuals were lured into Myanmar under false pretenses of employment and lucrative jobs, only to face forced labour and exploitation after being trapped in scam operations.
“Victims have reported severe punishments, including electric shocks, physical beatings, and even organ harvesting,” Njogu said in a statement issued in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.
She said that upon arrival in Nairobi, the victims were provided with counseling and psychological support to address the trauma experienced during their ordeal.
The rescued victims were repatriated, through the Kenyan embassy in Bangkok, in three batches — 26 on February 22, 49 on March 22, and 78 on April 5, the statement said.
Njogu said the 153 rescued Kenyans were among the over 7,000 individuals of different nationalities rescued from the scam compounds in Myanmar after a multinational rescue operation with the government of Thailand, Xinhua news agency reported.
She said that between 2022 and 2024, Kenya rescued and repatriated 150 Kenyan victims of human trafficking from the “Golden Triangle” region of Asia.
Njogu called on Kenyan jobseekers to verify offers of employment overseas, especially those requiring upfront fees.
“We reiterate that there are currently no job opportunities for Kenyans in the ‘Golden Triangle’ in South East Asia,” she said. “Any recruitment agency or agent purporting to have job opportunities in the region should be treated as human traffickers.” (IANS)
