50,000 visas expire as government urged to step up diplomatic talks with Saudi Arabia

 

Kenyan jobseekers arrive at JKIA on November 2, 2026, after being denied entry into Saudi Arabia over Ebola-related restrictions. [StaffordOndego,Standard]

Private employment agencies have asked the government to step up diplomatic talks with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to lift Ebola-related travel restrictions and allow for labour movement.

The agencies warned that more than 50,000 visas for travellers destined for the Middle East could expire as the holy month of Ramadan approaches.

Speaking in Mombasa on Friday, the Kenya Association of Private Employment Agencies (KAPEA) national chairman, Mr Juma Omar Mwangala, welcomed progress in containing the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak but decried the blockage of travellers to the Middle East over a few cases for Kenya.

He commended Health Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale and Ministry of Health Director-General Dr Patrick Amoth for tracing all 135 identified Ebola contacts, discharging recovered patients and releasing those who completed quarantine.

"We also recognise that the current travel disruption affects both sides," Mwangala said, noting that Saudi employers and families who invested in visa processing and interviews are equally affected.

He urged the Ministries of Labour and Foreign Affairs to keep engaging their Saudi counterparts, saying public health protection and the interests of both countries can be advanced together.

Former national chairman Mwalimu Mwanguzo, who now chairs the association's Supervisory Committee, said time was running out for agents holding visas they cannot use.

"Travelling is a process, not an event. Some visas now have only one or two weeks left before they expire," Mwanguzo said.

Mwanguzo asked Duale to speed up talks with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, saying Kuwait's restriction followed the Saudi decision. He feared other Gulf states could follow.

"We fear that if we keep quiet, tomorrow we may hear that Qatar, Bahrain or Oman have also imposed travel bans," he said.

He appealed to job seekers who had already received visas and tickets to be patient and stay in touch with their agents.

He also asked President William Ruto to intervene so that Muslims preparing for Umrah are not left out.

Another former chairman, Abdalla Mohammed Naim, who is a director at Naim Investments Limited, said the losses reach well beyond the agencies.

He listed passport applications, medical examinations, certificates of good conduct, transport and airline tickets as sectors affected.

"Many sectors have lost money, and even the Government has lost revenue because there is no travelling," he said.

Naim said the decision to lift the restrictions rests with Saudi authorities. He added that Saudi Arabia's public health body, Wikaya, assesses communicable disease conditions and, working with the World Health Organisation, determines when a country can be cleared.

He pointed to Uganda, which has been under restrictions since June, as a reason for hope. Agents there told him they expect to be reopened soon after the country was declared Ebola-free.

Naim said Kenya has recorded no new cases since the count of 42 days began. The Government also released nine people recently.

"These decisions are not ours to make. If we continue to contain it well, God willing, the doors will open," Naim said.

Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi has since written to the Saudi Arabian authorities seeking to have the travel ban lifted.

He argued that the Government has promptly informed the World Health Organisation of the Ebola cases and its actions and wondered why Saudi Arabia has taken harsh measures.

He said the action could hit Africa hard if Saudi Arabia does not rescind its decision.

Already, about 300 domestic workers from Kenya have been turned back following the Ebola restrictions.