THE national government has been urged to vet all immigrant workers’ recruiting agents before licensing them.
Victims of Saudi torture led by Mombasa nominated Senator Emma Mbura on Wednesday said last September’s ban on recruitment and movement of domestic workers to the Gulf region and Middle East was cosmetic.
Labour Cabinet Secretary Kazungu Kambi made the announcement.
Mbura said recruiting agents should be held responsible for the travel and safety of Kenyan immigrant workers who pass through their agencies.
She said she is still following up on a case in which a Kenyan youth, William Juma Kalama, was arrested on suspicion of having drugs.
“After lab tests, it was found he had no drugs but they still went ahead and sentenced him to six months in jail. What for? From what I gather, they use such excuses to have youth do cleaning for them,” Mbura said.
Coast Forum for Human Rights director Alex Mwanza said Kambi’s ban was only verbal.
“We discovered this after police told us they could not arrest some two recruiting agents who we were after for recruiting two sisters to Saudi Arabia before vanishing with their Sh200,000,” he said.
-The Star
