Rahma Ochieng Pacho, Rachael Njoki Kariuki, Vincent Oyugi Omondi, and Samuel Kibuti Njue were freed on Thursday after detectives sought 14 days to complete investigations into what prosecutors describe as a scheme that left 364 young Kenyans stranded with government loans they cannot repay.
Milimani Magistrate Lucas Onyina granted each suspect bail of Ksh 200,000 or a cash alternative of Ksh 100,000, while ordering them to surrender their passports to the court and report regularly to investigating officers.
According to an affidavit sworn by Chief Inspector Leah Ambiche, a police officer stationed at County CID Headquarters-Nairobi, the case revolves around the government’s Kazi Majuu platform, designed to facilitate youth employment abroad.
The court heard that Pacho, director of Zawadi Jobs Abroad Limited, reported to DCI Regional Offices that Kariuki and Omondi, identified as husband and wife, approached her with a Dubai job opportunity requiring 1,075 workers.
“After several persuasions sessions by the 2nd & 3rd respondents who are wife and husband, and also considering the 1st respondent was recruiting skilled laborers to Dubai for the first time, she agreed and uploaded the job demand letter from Saif Business Services Centre based in Dubai,” the affidavit states.
The document reveals that during Ministry of Labor recruitment drives in coastal counties including Malindi, Kwale, Mombasa, Kilifi, and Mambrui, many applicants couldn’t afford required fees.
By end of July 2025, the Government of Kenya funded 364 candidates with loans totaling Ksh 72,800,000 through the Youth Fund.
Investigators allege that once the 364 candidates received funds in their Equity Bank accounts, the money was transferred to Zawadi Jobs Abroad Limited’s account.
From there, the first respondent allegedly made suspicious transfers:Ksh 13,504,133 to Glorivin International (associated with the third respondent) for visa processing, Ksh 10,924,133 to Taushi Tours & Travel Ltd (linked to the second respondent) for air ticket processing
The affidavit claims Njoki “admitted to having used the amounts transferred to her company’s account for personal obligation to clear her child school fees arrears and also cleared a loan owed to shylock.”
CI Ambiche emphasized the case’s significance in her sworn statement: “This is a Public interest case where the Government has lost tax payers money to the tune of Seventy million eight hundred thousand shillings which was meant to better the livelihood of the Kenyan youth through the Kazi Majuu platform.”
The affidavit adds: “These youths did not travel as envisioned and are expected to repay the loans advanced to them by the Government through the Youth Fund, yet they haven’t benefitted in any way from the loan that was advanced to them.”
Investigators are seeking to authenticate a job demand order dated February 24, 2025, allegedly issued by Saif Business Services Centre in the United Arab Emirates and attested to by the Kenyan Consulate in Dubai.
The prosecution had argued the suspects were flight risks, noting “the respondents hold passports” and their “fixed abode not known.”
Detectives also sought court orders for forensic examination of the suspects’ mobile phones and access to banking records.
The case has been set for mention on February 16, 2026.
