Unemployed First-Class Graduate Forced to Live in the Streets of Nairobi Gets Job Offers from Top Companies

Kelvin Ochieng, a 24-year-old first-class honors graduate who resorted to living in the streets of Nairobi after failing to secure a job, has received employment offers from several companies.

This comes after his plight was highlighted by Citizen TV on Sunday evening in a story titled #FirstClassBetrayal.

Ochieng, who hails from Kisumu County, scored straight A’s at Maranda High School and was admitted to the University of Nairobi, where he studied Actuarial Science and graduated with First Class honors in 2017.

“I can’t get round to how I feel about the fact that Obede, index number one in my year at Maranda and who went on to become one of the best Actuarial students at UoN, is in the streets. It’s something else,” said Austin Omondi, one of his former classmates.

Ochieng has received job offers from a number of County governments, and several private and State corporations after his story was aired. 

They include Kenya Forest Service (KFS), Nairobi County government, Migori County government, Naivas Supermarket, Vivo Energy, Kenya Private Sector Alliance (Kepsa) and Centum Investments.

Others are Jamii Bora Bank, Kenya Red Cross, UAP Old Mutual, Triple OK Law Advocates, Actuary Patrick Waweru, Resolution Health East Africa Ltd, Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) and audit company Deloitte, which was among the places Kevin previously sought a job but was unsuccessful.

Kelvin confessed to having contemplated suicide at some point.