Kenyans trapped in Cambodia seek help to return home
More than 600 Kenyans who say they were lured to Cambodia with promises of employment but later held against their will are seeking court orders to compel the Kenyan government to bring them home, according to filings submitted Monday.
The petition filed at Kenya’s High Court says the group was confined in a guarded compound surrounded by high walls and barbed wire to prevent escape. Court documents allege the victims were forced to work up to 16 hours a day to meet extreme targets, with some suffering stabbings and untreated injuries, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
The filings do not specify whether the Kenyans were made to work in cyber scam centres, which Cambodian authorities have been cracking down on in recent weeks. After a raid on the compound, the alleged captors fled, leaving the group in a local shelter with limited food and urgent medical needs, the documents say.
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The petition asks the court to order Kenya’s foreign affairs ministry and other state agencies to provide consular protection, issue emergency travel documents and arrange repatriation. The group says Cambodian authorities have told them to leave the country by February 28, 2026, or face legal action, but they cannot afford flights home.
A spokesperson for Kenya’s foreign affairs ministry said she was not aware of the case. Cambodia’s interior ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The High Court is expected to hear the case later on Tuesday.
By Aysel Mammadzada
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