This must be the height of impunity and a mockery of the criminal investigations system that can only undermine the fight against corruption, if it is, indeed, true. It is the revelation that the detectives investigating the overseas jobs scam suspects have recently been transferred to some remote, far-flung locations.
And we are not in any way suggesting that the security agencies should be dictated on how to deploy their staff. They have every right to reshuffle and transfer these officers anywhere in the country for special assignments or to strengthen their operations.
The issue here is the apparent uncanny coincidence involving those investigating the highly publicised rip-off by these recruitment agencies. One of the detectives transferred from Nairobi was investigating a recruitment agency that has since been blacklisted by the government after allegedly conning jobseekers out of Sh720 million.
The owner of this firm recently turned up in Germany, when President William Ruto led a delegation to sign a deal for Kenyans to go and work there. He was not a part of the presidential delegation and reportedly paid his way there, but was obviously angling himself to benefit from the pact.
The firm later advertised job opportunities in Germany, in what the detectives suspect was a plot to lure more recruits. Detectives said the directors of the firms adversely mentioned had threatened to get them transferred and it happened. The firms have been promising non-existent jobs in Canada, the United Kingdom, Dubai, and other European and Arab countries.
Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) boss Mohammed Amin confirmed that 12 officers from Nairobi had been transferred, but denied that it was a ploy to scuttle the investigations into the overseas jobs scam. He only explained that they had overstayed in their stations.
Just how powerful could these suspects be? Is our country becoming a criminal enterprise? All suspects must be investigated and subjected to due process. Inspector-General of Police Douglas Kanja should come clean on this matter by ordering a thorough investigation.
