A group of expats working in Qatar have come forward to protest a host of unethical practices being perpetrated by junior staff at the Kenyan embassy in Doha.
Speaking to us on Thursday, May 5, an unhappy inhabitant in the gulf nation decried pathetic services at the mission that was formerly headed by the late Ambassador Paddy C Ahenda.
For instance, a simple passport renewal process that should take no more than 4 weeks drags on for more than 3 months.
Bearing in mind that unlike here in Kenya, applicants in Qatar are much fewer.
Any attempts at following up are mostly met with arrogant responses from the rude staff.
Unprofessionalism is also rife at the embassy where male staff are reported to openly prey on runaway housegirls desperate for help.
Those seeking services are left to endlessly wait in line for long hours.
In fact, many have already given up on the pursuit of their documents.
“Hi, Nyakundi,
I would like you to make this public.
The junior staffs at the Kenyan Embassy here in Doha, Qatar are like a chronic disease they have pathetic customer service.
Three of us went to renew our old generation passports 3 months ago this was after the embassy here made it public that they had started printing passports, a process which is supposed to take only a maximum of 4 weeks since there are fewer applicants over here.
When you make a follow up call the kind of responses and arrogancy from the embassy staff can make someone sick.
Even when you go physically to enquire you would find a male staff busy seducing desperate runway house girls instead of helping, it doesn’t even bother them that some people are in the queue.
It is at the Kenyan embassy here in Doha where you wait for up to 3 hours to be attended to because male staff are busy talking to ladies.
We understand that they are in dry spell but service to citizens living over here is not favour because we are taxpayers as well and we deserve efficient services.
3 months down the line we are yet to receive our passports and there are many who have given up on the process.
Please help highlight this,” the source writes.
The Kenyan Embassy in Doha, Qatar has for long been blamed for the woes facing most Kenyans working in Qatar.
According to sources, thousands of Kenyan youths who go to the country in search of employment opportunities, are facing various issues that the Embassy has allegedly turned a blind eye to.
The youth working in Qatar have often accused the Kenyan government office of neglecting them and leaving them to the mercies and exploitation of their employers.
Despite their plea to the Embassy to set a minimum wage for the employers, as other countries do, the embassy is yet to act on it.
This leaves most youths exposed to the exploitation of their employers who end up paying them dismally.
Most Kenyans in Qatar are doing manual jobs such as security guards/guidettes, domestic workers and general labourers on construction sites.
