Con artists prey on Kazi Mtaani applicants in Nakuru East
Kivumbuni Ward youth representative, Fred Orieny laments over the delay of Kazi Mtaani in Nakuru East on September 23, 2025.
Con artists have devised a way to take advantage of unemployed youth who applied for the Kazi Mtaani program in Nakuru East.
A text message seen by Mtaa Wangu asked those who has applied to send Sh200 as fee to secure a spot on the program.
“To verify your details and confirm your participation, pay sh.200 to Paybill 714777, account number 440220255716, before the end of October 23, 2025. The purpose of the fee is to eliminate some of the youth who are not in a position to pay that amount since we require a certain number of youths to work for phase three on the money allocated by the government,” read part of the text message.
In a phone call interview with the Nakuru East MCA, Anthony Kanyere, he confirmed that the message was false and that they are yet to roll out the program in his ward.
“Once the program is rolled out, there will be an official communication from the Member of Parliament,” he noted.
On September 23, youth in Nakuru East took to the streets to protest over the long-delayed start of the national Kazi Mtaani youth employment program.
They blamed their area MP, David Gikaria, for the holdup, saying the inaction has left them jobless and desperate.
In interviews with some of the youth, they gave tales of how they are desperate, with some even confessing to resorting to crime to survive.
In his defense, the legislator went ahead to cite the large number of youth in the constituency as the main challenge.
"Nakuru Town East has thousands of unemployed young people. We were only given 490 places for people to work for three months. Therefore, it became challenging to determine the selection criteria for the young people,” Gikaria said.
He went ahead to say that they raised the matter with the President and are looking to set up a supplementary budget that would help encompass the large number of youth.
The Kazi Mtaani programme was announced by President William Ruto during the Madaraka Day celebrations on June 1, 2025, with a promise to implement it the following week.