Eldoret Man Ordered To Refund Sh12 Million He Scammed Job Seekers

An Eldoret court has ordered a man accused of defrauding 18 job seekers of more than Sh12 million to begin refunding the victims their money by the end of this month.

Principal Magistrate Cherono Kesse on Tuesday directed Joseph Kipkoech Keino to deposit Sh150,000 before September 29, 2025, warning that failure to comply would lead to the immediate cancellation of his Sh3 million bond.

Mr. Keino is accused of obtaining money from university students, college graduates, and taxi operators by falsely promising them lucrative hospitality jobs in Australia.

The victims were lured with offers of employment as servicemen and servicewomen in hotels, complete with free food, accommodation, and an alleged monthly salary of Sh900,000.

The magistrate said Keino could make partial payments as a show of good faith, even as low as Sh20,000, urging him to demonstrate commitment to refunding the victims.

“This should be a warning to those still involved in such dirty deals. What these people want is commitment, not excuses,” Kesse ruled.

The accused will be required to appear in court on October 6 to confirm compliance with the order.

In his defense, Keino pleaded for more time to raise the funds, claiming the job placement deal had collapsed unexpectedly.

“Your honor, this is the only time I have appeared in court. I have never been accused of wrong, but kindly I ask for more time to plan how I will refund the money I took from my clients in the botched overseas job deal. Something went wrong somewhere, but let me promise, I will clear them soon,” he told the court.

According to the charge sheet, Keino and others still at large received sums ranging from Sh300,000 to Sh1.8 million from each of the 18 victims between March and July 2024.

The victims were convinced the payments were part of the process of securing hotel jobs abroad.

Keino first appeared in court in September 2024, where he denied the charges and was released on a Sh3 million bond with a surety of a similar amount.