'Kasongo is going down': CS Mutua accuses Orwoba of threatening him in overseas jobs saga

Labour Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua has accused Nominated Senator Gloria Orwoba of spreading misinformation to mislead Kenyans regarding the labour mobility program that seeks to offer Kenyans employment opportunities abroad.

In a letter addressed to Senate Speaker Amason Kingi, CS Mutua requested to address the Senate and set the record straight about the program's successes and challenges. 

He cited instances where Orwoba claimed that thousands of Kenyans are getting conned by agents in the Ministry of Labour offices in boardrooms.

In the letter, Mutua challenged Orwoba to prove the allegations by providing a list of the thousands of conned Kenyans, further pointing out that the lawmaker’s remarks are an attempt at gaining political mileage.

"Her claim that she has a list of 1,000 people who took loans from the Youth Fund and have not travelled is FALSE. We challenge her to table the names of the 1,000 people who she claims to have been conned after receiving Youth Funds and the name of the silent agent she claims to have gone quiet," the statement read in part.

"Let her also provide evidence of the so-called thousands she claims to have received loans from shylocks and microfinance institutions. We wish to share with the Senate that all this is a fabrication to mislead the Senate and Kenyans, in order to gain popularity and political mileage."

Mutua also challenged the Senator to prove her allegations of a pyramid scheme that is extorting Kenyans.

Further, he claimed that Orwoba has been threatening employment agencies and extorting them to employ people to serve political interests in Bobasi Constituency.

He went on to claim that, when he asked the Senator to halt the intimidation tactics on ministry officials, Orwoba instead threatened him as well.

"We have attached a list of 600 names she gave to one agency, demanding for non-existent jobs," noted Mutua.

“Senator Gloria Orwoba also threatened me when I told her to stop harassing my officers. She told me that she will deal with me by teaching me a lesson. She also added and I quote: ‘Kasongo is going down and I will not go down with him’, referring to H. E. the President. This reference to H.E the President was made when my phone was on speaker mode while I was in the company of Cabinet Secretary, Hon. Wycliffe Oparanya.”

Further, the CS claimed that Orwoba was unfit to serve as a State officer for spreading misinformation, citing that it contravenes the Leadership and Integrity Act of 2012. 

"Her feelings of entitlement have even led her to coach people to mislead media houses. She has even compromised the youth to appear in media interviews. She financed youths by giving them money as ‘bus fare’ and ‘accommodation’ so that they could take a negative stance and mislead Kenyans. We will table the evidence," Mutua said. 

The CS's letter follows concerns raised by Orwoba when he appeared before the Labour and Social Welfare Committee meeting to discuss overseas job scams. 

During the committee proceedings, Orwoba questioned why the government is determined to send Kenyans to Iraq, even as it works to rescue other Kenyans from the country.

She also sought to know how the National Employment Authority (NEA) was protecting Kenyans from rogue employment agencies. 

"I want to ask the CS since it's no longer a game, we're playing with Kenyans' lives. We want to know whether the National Employment Authority is safeguarding Kenyans from rogue agents, not this drama," she said.