Kenya is expanding opportunities for citizens seeking employment abroad through bilateral labour agreements with countries in Europe and the Gulf, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has said.
Mudavadi urged Kenyans looking for jobs overseas to use official government channels to verify opportunities and avoid unregistered recruitment agents who could expose them to exploitation and trafficking.
Speaking during the 4th Annual Employment and Labour Relations Symposium and Exhibition (ELRASE IV) at Strathmore University in Nairobi on Wednesday, Mudavadi said Kenya had established labour agreements with several countries to promote safer and more structured overseas employment.
“We have signed agreements with countries including the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Germany, Austria and most recently Italy. We are actively exploring frameworks with other nations,” Mudavadi said.
Government expands overseas job pathways
Mudavadi, who also serves as Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, said the agreements were being implemented alongside the Kazi Majuu programme to create structured pathways for Kenyans seeking employment abroad.
He said more than 540,000 Kenyans had secured jobs outside the country, while diaspora remittances exceeded $5 billion in 2025, making them Kenya’s largest single source of foreign exchange.
The government, however, has raised concerns over recruitment malpractice and the risks faced by migrant workers.
Mudavadi said more than 600 recruitment agencies suspected of facilitating malpractice had been closed.
He warned that some Kenyans had been lured into unsafe employment, exposed to human trafficking networks or deceived into becoming combatants in foreign conflicts.
The government has also initiated efforts to repatriate Kenyans trapped in conflict zones linked to the Russia-Ukraine war and scam compounds in Myanmar.
“These are not just statistics; they represent the lives and dignity of our brothers and sisters,” Mudavadi said.
Calls for stronger protection of migrant workers
Mudavadi said Kenya must strengthen legal protections for citizens working abroad, particularly low-wage workers and domestic workers.
He noted that migrant workers can face difficulties pursuing justice because employment disputes may involve different jurisdictions, financial constraints and unequal bargaining power between workers and employers.
“Their justice journeys often traverse multiple jurisdictions, power imbalances, trauma, and economic precarity,” he said.
He called for greater attention to recruitment accountability, joint liability and enforcement of employment rights arising from work performed outside Kenya.
Mudavadi also urged stakeholders to scrutinise employment contracts to identify provisions that could conceal coercion or structural inequality.
CJ Koome: justice must follow workers abroad
Chief Justice Martha Koome separately called for Kenya’s justice system to adapt to the growing number of citizens seeking employment overseas.
Koome said crossing an international border in search of work should not mean losing access to legal protection.
“Justice must travel with the worker,” she said.
The Chief Justice identified accessible legal procedures, timely justice, effective enforcement and appropriate dispute-resolution mechanisms as important safeguards for migrant workers.
She also called for stronger cross-border cooperation in serving legal documents, gathering evidence and enforcing decisions.
Koome highlighted the particular vulnerabilities of women migrant workers, domestic workers, young workers, persons with disabilities and victims or potential victims of trafficking.
She encouraged the responsible use of court-annexed mediation, conciliation and other dispute-resolution mechanisms, while stressing that such processes must remain voluntary and protect workers’ rights.
Mudavadi said the government would continue working with the Judiciary, legal practitioners, employers, workers’ representatives and development partners to strengthen protections and promote safe, regular and orderly labour migration.
