Court Finds Nairobi Company, Directors Guilty of Trafficking Kenyan Student to Myanmar

The Employment and Labour Relations Court in Nairobi has found a local company and three of its directors responsible for trafficking a Kenyan student to Myanmar, where he was forced into labour in online fraud operations.

The case, Nyakong’o v Gratify Solutions International Limited & three others, involved Haron Nyakong’o, a Kisii University student who had paused his studies to seek employment. Nyakong’o testified that he was recruited with promises of a high-paying customer care position in Bangkok offering a monthly salary of Sh180,000. 

To secure the role, he was required to pay Sh200,000, of which Sh150,000 was sent via M-Pesa to accounts linked to two of the defendants. In December 2024, Nyakong’o travelled from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport with a group allegedly organised by one of the directors. 

On arrival in Thailand, the group was intercepted, had their passports confiscated, and were transported to the Thai–Myanmar border. They were then smuggled across the Moei River into a rebel-controlled area, where Nyakong’o was detained and forced to participate in online scams targeting US citizens.

Court documents detailed his experience, including physical abuse, confinement, food deprivation, and threats of death if he tried to communicate externally. His captors demanded USD 4,500 for his release, claiming ownership over him. 

Justice Byram Ongaya concluded that the defendants’ actions met the criteria for trafficking under Kenya’s Counter-Trafficking in Persons Act and the Palermo Protocol, noting that the harm stemmed directly from the fraudulent recruitment in Nairobi. The court awarded Nyakong’o Sh5 million in compensation for rights violations, psychological trauma, and inhuman treatment. 

A permanent injunction was issued, barring the defendants from engaging in recruitment or facilitation of overseas employment. Claims for unpaid salaries totalling Sh720,000 were dismissed, as the court found the job offer to be fraudulent and not legally binding. Nyakong’o was rescued in April 2025 by military forces and returned to Kenya.