STAFF OF NGO RECRUITING 20,000 JOB SEEKERS DETAINED

Top officials of an organisation
suspected to have duped thousands of
Kenyans with lucrative job offers were
on Wednesday arrested by police,
allegedly for collecting money from
the public by false pretence.
The arrests were made after
authorities said the NGO was not
registered and had no funds “just yet”
to sustain the large number of
Kenyans it recruited.
According to NGO Coordination Board
chief executive Fazul Mahamed, Sub-
Saharan Africa Safe Promotion
Foundation-International (SSASP),
which attracted thousands to Kasarani
Safaricom Stadium with the job offers,
was an illegal entity.
“We summoned them today to confirm
their registration status. The group
came and produced a bunch of
brochures and no legal documents to
prove their authenticity. We have
asked the police to arrest them and
now they are with the CID,” he said.
Mr Mahamed said no employer
offering to provide jobs was allowed to
ask for payment prior to giving an
individual a job.
“It is quite unbelievable that a single
organisation can employ 20,000
Kenyans. The whole NGO body in
Kenya does not have more than
200,000 employees. How is it
possible that a single one can
accommodate 10 per cent of the total
population?” he asked.

One of the officials arrested is a
Zimbabwean, Mr Mahamed revealed.
Reached for comment, SSASP CEO
Julius Kithome, who was not among
those arrested, said the organisation
was a legitimate entity.
And it has sponsors willing to finance
it once it puts together a work force,
he added.
“We did not do it undercover. We went
to a public stadium. Actually, it was
the Ministry of Devolution officials
who advised us to do a massive
launch. If we were operating illegally,
why then did we have the Prisons
band during the launch and why were
we cleared to host our event in the
stadium?” he asked.
He denied claims of soliciting money
from the public.
“We are employing them and not
asking them for money. We have a
certificate of incorporation since June
2015. We are a legal entity who have
been working with various government
agencies, including Devolution
Ministry, the Police and the National
Intelligence Service,” Mr Kithome
said.
Mr Mahamed said the officials
arrested should be taken to court and
charged with three offences:
collecting money under false pretence,
operating without legal documentation
or registration and purporting to have
the ability to employ a large group of
Kenyans.
It is alleged that the organisation was
asking job applicants to pay a fee of
Sh350, which would secure them a
chance to work with the group.