By Amenya Ochieng
The Lamu Youth Assembly has issued an urgent appeal to national government to address the ongoing job recruitment row at the Kenya Ports Authority that they allege has locked out youths from being considered for jobs at the parastatal .
The activists have further alleged that following widespread technical failures during the recruitment process many young skilled people from Lamu County seem to have been systematically locked out during a highly competitive recruitment exercise that took place in November last year.
The Lamu Youth Assembly in a press release issued today made three core demands citing immediate transparency regarding the integrity of the recruitment system,urgent corrective measures to address technical barriers and a clear public response from KPA leadership outlining steps to guarantee fairness.
The group have stated that failure on KPA and the national government’s part to act decisively will compel them to pursue legal redress that will likely suspend the ongoing process until fairness and equal access are assured.
The controversy centers on a recruitment drive that attracted half a million applicants nationwide for just 296 positions—a ratio that underscores Kenya’s acute youth unemployment crisis.
In a previous interview KPA Managing Director Captain William Ruto revealed in November 2025 that 500,000 Kenyans had applied for the vacancies, which included office and technical roles such as plumbers, fitters, welders, and carpenters, with salaries ranging between Ksh67,000 and Ksh132,000.
For Lamu County which is home to the country’s newest deep-water port more than 800 youth from the county applied for the positions for which there are claims among a section of activists that the process was flawed.
Mohamed Hassan, representing Mkomani Ward in the Lamu Youth Assembly, described the frustration felt across the county in which he stated that hundreds of youth had travelled from remote areas like Basuba and Kiunga, searching for stable internet connections to complete this process for which they failed to get positions.
“Many have spent their last shillings on compliance documents, and to then face abrupt system failures which include reported KRA-related technical disruptions at critical stages feels like a deliberate attempt to lock us out,” he said
Hassan Mohamed, also representing Mkomani Ward, echoed the a similar sentiment stating that as the host community to new port the job opportunities should prioritize Lamu youth.
Also speaking in Amu Island today, Hajj Shee, representing Kiunga Ward, pointed to the geographical disadvantages facing applicants from his constituency.
“Kiunga is one of the most remote parts of this county with youth having to travel hours just to access internet only to be told that the system has crashed during their assessment,” Shee stated.
Samya Abubakar, representing Faza Ward, emphasized the gendered dimension of the crisis stating that young women in Lamu face additional cultural and logistical barriers.
“When a process that should be transparent becomes riddled with technical issues, it compounds the disadvantage they already experience,” Abubakar said.
Mohamed Skanda, representing Hindi Ward, warned of growing disillusionment among Lamu youths stating that the issue goes beyond jobs and points out to the lack of fairness in recruiting and accepting Kenyans regardless ethnicity or religion.
The recruitment challenges in Lamu reflect a broader national employment crisis which according to the Federation of Kenya Employers’ 2025 Youth Employment Report, overall unemployment in Kenya stands at 12.7 per cent, with Kenyans under 34 years accounting for 67 per cent of the unemployed.
The KPA recruitment, offering stable salaries and technical training opportunities, represented a rare lifeline in a constrained job market making the reported technical failures all the more consequential.
The group has further called on elected and appointed leaders from Lamu County to intervene, and has appealed directly to President William Ruto to ensure national institutions uphold justice for host communities.
