Envoy nominee to Thailand Lucy Kiruthu vows to tackle human trafficking, boost trade

Kenya’s ambassador nominee for the position of Kenyan Ambassador to Bangkok, Thailand, has raised the need to raise awareness on fake jobs to prevent Kenyans from being lured into imaginary jobs.

Appearing before the National Assembly Committee for Defence, Intelligence, and Foreign Relations, Lucy Kiruthu has acknowledged the issue of Kenyans being trafficked in Myanmar and other countries because of fake job opportunities, adding that the government needs to prosecute the rogue recruiters.

“We must prevent Kenyans from being lured into imaginary jobs, and we need to raise awareness among the youth. We must also deal with recruitment agencies that advertise false jobs.  Prosecute the rogue recruiters and work with governments to rescue and repatriate Kenyans who have been trafficked,” she stated.

“There is an inter-ministerial team that works on the issues of trafficking, which includes the Ministry of Labour, ODPP, and MFA. Currently, Kenya and Thailand are Members of the Human Rights Council. We can leverage this to push for an end to trafficking,” she added.

On the specific strategies she will propose to enhance trade and investment between Kenya and Thailand, and tackle the existing trade imbalance, Kiruthu has stated that she will push for a diversified working relationship between the two countries, including the Private sector and Manufacturers.

“I will push to honor economic diplomacy. I will push to diversify by working with organizations that matter, such as the Kenya Private Sector Alliance and the Kenya Association of Manufacturers. I will seek to increase market access for our Kenyan foods, for example, coffee, which we already sell to Thailand in small quantities,” she said.

” If approved, I will seek to diversify our products and include others we are not selling in Thailand. I will also work with relevant institutions to increase Foreign Direct Investment. Thailand is strategically positioned as a gateway to the ASEAN region, a market of 670 million people with a GDP of USD 3.6 trillion. We should use Thailand to export goods and attract funds from the bigger Asian region,” she added.

Currently, Kiruthu is the Acting Director General/Political and Diplomatic Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and previously served as Deputy Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Kenya to the United Nations, Geneva.