The Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs has confirmed that 119 Kenyans have been successfully repatriated from illegal online scam compounds in Myanmar.
In a statement issued on Monday, December 2025, the ministry said the rescue followed recent raids by Myanmar authorities and rebel groups targeting criminal syndicates operating in remote border areas of Karen State, near the Thailand border.
According to the ministry, the criminal groups had set up scam compounds where workers from different countries, including Kenya, were recruited under false job promises. The victims were forced to engage in online fraud. Some of the compounds were reportedly protected by armed rebel groups.
In September 2025, Myanmar authorities carried out raids on the camps, leading to arrests, seizures, demolitions, and bombings. The operations triggered clashes between the government and rebel groups, as well as fighting among rival rebel factions.
Following the raids, the criminals fled the camps, abandoning hundreds of foreign workers. Over 200 Kenyans sought safety in military shelters in Myawaddy and Shwe Kokko, while another group of more than 100 crossed into Thailand.
The Kenyan government, through the State Department for Diaspora Affairs (SDDA) and the Kenya Embassy in Bangkok, activated emergency measures to assist the affected citizens. These included creating WhatsApp groups to update families in real time, negotiating group travel fares, and issuing temporary travel documents after receiving an initial list of 126 Kenyans.
“Currently, 198 Kenyans are still awaiting repatriation. Sixty-six are held at Thailand’s Immigration Detention Centre, while 129 are in military shelters in Myanmar. The embassy is also in contact with three Kenyans at a Caritas Catholic safe house in Cambodia,” the ministry said.
The ministry revealed that 86 Kenyans initially refused to cooperate with officials, demanding government-funded air tickets and spreading false information on social media. However, they later shared their next-of-kin details on December 19, 2025.
The repatriation process has been slowed by holiday border closures in the region.
The government also raised concern that some Kenyans entered Thailand using tourist visas between April 2024 and November 2025, despite clear visa endorsements stating that employment was prohibited.
According to the ministry, many of those affected were aware that the jobs were linked to scams. It further alleged that some recruiters, working through intermediaries, were Kenyans who had previously been rescued but later returned to the scam compounds.
The government has now directed the remaining Kenyans seeking repatriation to independently purchase their return tickets as arrangements continue.
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