What was touted as a golden opportunity for 200 Kenyans to join the Qatar police service has devolved into a major scandal, leaving dozens of job seekers jobless and deep in debt after paying hefty recruitment fees.
In December 2024, Labour Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua confidently announced during a labor and migration forum at Nairobi’s Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) that the government was finalizing a deal to place Kenyans in Qatar’s police force.
“We just recruited 200 police officers for Qatar, and they are just doing their security check. By the end of this month they will be going to Qatar to work as police officers making good money,” Mutua declared at the event, which was attended by Qatar’s ambassador to Kenya, Mohammed Mutair.
The Broken Promise
Documents reviewed by Kenya Insights reveal that successful candidates were promised an initial monthly stipend of around Sh100,000 during training, with salaries doubling upon absorption into the Qatari police service.
The contracts offered to candidates stated they would receive “a fixed monthly salary of QR4,200” (approximately Sh140,000) plus “QR1,500 per month as an exceptional allowance” after completing training.
However, multiple victims who spoke to this reporter tell a different story.
After paying substantial fees to secure these positions, they arrived in Qatar only to be detained in camps, have their phones confiscated, and subsequently be deported back to Kenya following new medical examinations.
The Companies Behind the Scheme
The Qatar-Kenya police recruitment deal was exclusively assigned to Qhire International Services Company Limited, owned by Abdullahi Ibrahim and Mohammed Hussein.
Inspocare Health Ltd, owned by Damaris Ndani Soo and Isaac Mbithi Maundu, was contracted to conduct pre-departure medical screening.
Business records show that Qhire markets itself as an immigration and relocation support agency connecting job seekers with overseas opportunities in the United States, Canada, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.
Inspocare Health presents itself as a premier laboratory and wellness checkup center operating from Muthaiga Square on Thika Road.
The Victims’ Accounts
Abdiwahid Hamdi Aden, 26, paid Sh250,000 to Qhire International Services and approximately Sh10,000 to Inspocare Health for medical tests.
Upon arrival in Qatar in February 2025, Qatari authorities flagged his medical screening report as doctored after conducting fresh laboratory tests.
“They kept telling us that we should not worry about the lab tests given they are well connected,” Aden said, adding that he has been unsuccessfully pursuing a refund.
Abdulfatah Ismail, 29, borrowed Sh250,000 from his brother after hearing about the opportunity.
After paying the recruitment fee and receiving a clean bill of health from Inspocare, he was shocked when Qatari officials claimed discrepancies in his medical reports and sent him back to Kenya.
“I am now looking for a job to refund my brother the Sh250,000. I have been calling the recruitment agency and Inspocare asking them why they lied to us, but they don’t pick my calls. I feel frustrated and conned,” Ismail said.
Abdulqafar Adan, 25, who also paid Sh250,000, described being held in isolated camps in Qatar where their phones were confiscated.
“We were treated like illegal immigrants,” he said. After three weeks of waiting and undergoing new medical tests, he was deported on February 22.
Official Silence
When contacted, Labour CS Alfred Mutua declined to clarify whether the Qatar police deal was a government-to-government arrangement or explain who was mandated to conduct the recruitment.
“I do not deal specifically with agency operations. I will find out the status and revert,” Mutua responded in a text message, promising feedback within two days.
However, no further response was provided by press time.
The Qatar Embassy in Nairobi referred inquiries to Kenya’s National Employment Authority (NEA), whose Director-General Edith Okoki did not respond to calls or messages.
Representatives from both Qhire International Services and Inspocare Health have failed to address the allegations despite multiple requests for comment.
Growing Scandal
This controversy adds to mounting criticism of the Kenya Kwanza administration’s overseas jobs programs, which victims claim have become goldmines for rogue recruiters exploiting desperate job seekers.
The scandal has now caught the attention of Kenya’s Senate, which has summoned CS Mutua to explain the failed overseas jobs initiatives and why thousands of youths who paid substantial fees never secured the promised positions abroad.
As investigations continue, many victims remain jobless and in debt, with some afraid to return to their rural homes because they cannot account for the money raised for what they believed would be life-changing opportunities abroad.
