A Kenyan court has awarded 5 million shillings to a university student who was lured into Myanmar's cyber-slavery networks under false employment promises, marking a landmark trafficking judgment. Justice Byram Ongaya determined that recruiters from Gratify Solutions International escorted the victim through Jomo Kenyatta International Airport before delivering him to criminal syndicates at the Thai-Myanmar border, where he endured months of systematic torture alongside 77 other rescued Kenyans.
The victim paid recruiter Virginia Wacheke Muriithi 200,000 shillings for rapid visa processing, only to find himself imprisoned in fortified compounds where captors forced him to execute Instagram-based financial scams targeting wealthy profiles. Advocate Lillian Nyangasi described barbaric punishments for missed targets, with victims standing on jagged stones while balancing water containers for 24 hours, consuming reptiles and amphibians, and suffering sexual violence.
Court evidence traced WhatsApp communications and mobile money transfers to Muriithi, Ann Njeri Kihara, and Boniface Owino, revealing their violation of constitutional protections against servitude. The survivor plans to settle family debts and resume his education after receiving compensation.
The victim paid recruiter Virginia Wacheke Muriithi 200,000 shillings for rapid visa processing, only to find himself imprisoned in fortified compounds where captors forced him to execute Instagram-based financial scams targeting wealthy profiles. Advocate Lillian Nyangasi described barbaric punishments for missed targets, with victims standing on jagged stones while balancing water containers for 24 hours, consuming reptiles and amphibians, and suffering sexual violence.
Court evidence traced WhatsApp communications and mobile money transfers to Muriithi, Ann Njeri Kihara, and Boniface Owino, revealing their violation of constitutional protections against servitude. The survivor plans to settle family debts and resume his education after receiving compensation.
