How desperate job seeker lost Sh190K to 'employment agent' on TikTok

A 29-year-old woman lost Sh190,000 to a city driver who promised to secure her a job in Sweden and help her process travel documents.

Josephine Midika is seeking justice after she allegedly lost the money in just a week of meeting Ian Odhiambo Odera.

In the court papers, Odera is said to have defrauded Midika on diverse dates between January 16 and 21 at unknown place while pretending to be in a position to get her a job in Sweden, a fact he knew to be false.

Prior to the transactions, Midika was scrolling through her TikTok account when he bumped into a live session of Odera speaking about job vacancies available in Sweden and urging his viewers to seize the opportunities.

After watching the presentation for a few minutes, Midika realised that what she had always wanted to do was among the opportunities that Odera was discussing.

He noted his mobile number and later called him for further details and the accused told her to go and meet him anytime when she was ready.

On January 16, the two met at a restaurant on Outering Road, Nairobi. He picked her in a car and while he was driving, he took her though the supposed job application steps.

At some point, Odera told her that he was taking the car to a garage near the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).

He also informed Midika that for a start, he needed Sh56,000 to arrange for her passport, visa and process her medical documents. The complainant then sent him Sh36,000 and a week later, she sent him Sh154,000.

The accused could not, however, fulfill his promise of taking her for biometrics at the Gigiri center citing unavailable slots for her.

He, however, sent her what he claimed to be a passport using an Uber rider.

All this time he was taking her in circles and when the complainant got wind that the accused was defrauding other Kenyans, she reported the matter to the authorities who arrested him.

Odera denied the charges and he was granted a bond of Sh100,000 or an alternative bail of Sh40,000 pending hearing of the case on October 24.