Labour Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua on Wednesday advised Kenyans seeking jobs abroad to do their due diligence before applying to avoid being swindled.

Appearing before the Senate on Wednesday, the CS while responding to a question fielded by Nandi Senator Samson's Cherargei advised Kenyans that going the extra mile to find more information about the recruitment agencies and opportunities is necessary especially now when unscrupulous agents are taking advantage of gullible Kenyans.

During the session, the senator expressed his displeasure after the Cabinet Secretary reportedly failed to provide an official list of approved recruitment agencies as he had earlier been requested by Senators.

"Why can't the Labour and Social Protection CS Dr. Alfred Mutua provide a list of the recruitment agencies cleared to operate by the National Employment Authority (NEA) to this House? No wonder Kenyans are being conned every day", Senator Cherargei charged during the proceedings.

The CS revealed that he had prepared and signed the official recruitment agencies list, and was going to follow up to ensure it is availed to senators.

"As far as I know in my records, I signed the list and attached it, it was delivered to Parliament but I'll follow up with my staff to see whether the people did the right thing, I cannot say it is attached, if it was not attached. As part of my answer, it was delivered, my apologies if there was any anomaly"

According to the CS, applying for a job is a full-time commitment and the youth should take time to investigate agencies before applying for jobs through them.

"Kenyans who are applying for jobs abroad you research the job, from wherever you are."

"Be very careful about recruitment agencies that come to your villages and tell you they are recruiting you, and that you need to pay them money", the CS said during the hearing.

In August, the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection flagged 16 recruitment agencies after hundreds of Kenyans claimed to have lost millions in employment scandals in Eldoret. 

In a statement, Labour Principal Secretary Shadrack Mwadime said that the Ministry flagged the unethical agencies after carrying out investigations in collaboration with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI). 

More than 300 people from Eldoret City had lost millions while applying for scholarships after which they were supposed to be flown to institutions in Finland and Canada.

Uasin Gishu Senator Jackson Mandago, Uasin Gishu Governor Jonathan Bii, and his former Deputy Governor John Barorot would later be brought in on suspicion of being involved in the scholarships scandal. They have since appeared in court over the same.

The deal attracted criticism after reports emerged that the students were being deported back to the country for failure to pay school fees, while others who had already paid for the scholarship did not travel altogether.

Investigations into the matter unveiled a web of deceit and misappropriation of Ksh1.1 Billion meant for the cause. The case is still in court with the lead witness Mercy Tarus expected to testify in due course.