Kenyans trapped in Cambodia by trafficking scheme seek government help to return home

NAIROBI, Feb 24 (Reuters) – More than 600 Kenyans who were lured to Cambodia by the promise of jobs but say they ended up being kept against their will in a trafficking scheme are seeking court orders to compel the Kenyan government to bring them home.

The papers filed in Kenya’s High Court on Monday say the Kenyan citizens were kept in a guarded compound surrounded by high perimeter walls and barbed wire to prevent escape.

They were forced to work continuously for 16 hours to meet extreme targets and several suffered stabbings and carried untreated injuries, the court filings say.

They did not say whether the Kenyans had been working in a scam centre, such as those which Cambodian authorities have been cracking down on in recent weeks. The centres, used for cyber fraud, have proliferated in Southeast Asia in recent years.

The filings say that after Cambodian authorities raided the compound, the captors escaped. The group says it is “currently hounded in a local shelter in Cambodia”, lacking food and in need of urgent medical care.

The group has asked the court to issue urgent orders compelling Kenya’s foreign affairs ministry and other state agencies to offer consular protection, issue emergency travel documents and repatriate them.

Their petition cites constitutional protections against torture and slavery, and argues the state has a duty to protect citizens abroad.

The court filings say Cambodian authorities have told the group of Kenyans to leave the country by February 28, 2026, or face legal action and imprisonment. The group says it cannot afford flights back to Kenya.

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 due to hear the case later on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Humphrey Malalo and Vincent Mumo Nzilani;Editing by Alexander Winning, Aidan Lewis)