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Kenyan envoy to US warns of fake visa websites


Kenya’s ambassador to the United States Robinson Njeru Githae has warned potential e-visa applicants about the existence of counterfeit websites purporting to issue the travel document on behalf of the government.

Speaking to the Nation on Saturday, Ambassador Githae said the fraudulent sites are masquerading as genuine government platforms and have been scamming e-visa applicants.

“They are designed in such a way that they can be mistaken for the official Government of Kenya e-visa website,” said Ambassador Githae in a phone interview from his office in Washington, DC.

He, however, noted that unlike the genuine Kenyan government site, which charges the official fee of $50 (Sh5,000), the fake websites are charging $120 (Sh12,000) and $99 (Sh9,900), respectively.

He said the websites being investigated are www.kenya-evisa-online.com and www.kenyaonlinevisa.org.

The envoy said the Foreign Affairs ministry investigating the sites and is working with the US government to arrest those behind the websites.

“We are doing everything possible to make sure that innocent people, both Americans and other nationals, don’t lose their money to these crooks,” said Ambassador Githae.

But he did not reveal how many applicants may have been swindled through the use of the fake sites or whether anyone had been arrested in connection with the fraud.

The envoy said the only genuine platform through which potential visitors to Kenya can apply for visas is http://evisa.go.ke/evisa.html.

On December 22, the Kenyan High Commission in the United Kingdom issued a similar alert while the Kenyan embassy in Cairo, Egypt, posted a message on its official website warning about the existence of a similar scam targeting potential visitors to Kenya.