We're loading the full news article for you. This includes the article content, images, author information, and related articles.
A BBC investigation exposes the brutal reality of the QNET "network marketing" scam, a trafficking ring luring desperate youths across Africa into captivity and debt.

It starts with a phone call or a Facebook message: a promise of a high-paying job in Ghana, Sierra Leone, or Thailand. But for hundreds of young Africans, including Kenyans, this promise is the gateway to a modern-day slavery ring operated under the guise of "network marketing."
A chilling expose by BBC Africa Eye has blown the lid off the QNET trafficking syndicate. Victims like Foday Musa’s children are lured across borders, stripped of their passports and phones, and held captive in squalid "training camps." There, they are brainwashed and forced to scam their own families back home to pay for their "freedom."
While QNET presents itself as a legitimate wellness company selling watches and pendants, its West African franchise has mutated into a criminal enterprise. Recruits are told they must "buy a product" to start working—often costing upwards of US$1,000 (KES 150,000). Once the money is paid, the job vanishes. The only way to recoup the loss? Recruit two more people. And so, the cycle of exploitation continues.
"My heart is broken," says Musa, who traveled from Guinea to Sierra Leone to hunt for his son and daughter. "I can’t stop crying." His story is a carbon copy of cases reported in Kenya, where families sell land to send their children to "jobs" that don't exist.
This is not just fraud; it is human trafficking. Interpol and regional police forces are struggling to dismantle a network that operates in the gray zones of the law. For young Kenyans, the warning is stark: if you have to pay to get a job, you are the product.
Keep the conversation in one place—threads here stay linked to the story and in the forums.
Other hot threads
E-sports and Gaming Community in Kenya
Active 8 months ago
Popular Recreational Activities Across Counties
Active 8 months ago
The Role of Technology in Modern Agriculture (AgriTech)
Active 8 months ago
Investing in Youth Sports Development Programs
Active 8 months ago