At the heart of a sprawling visa-processing scandal rocking Kenya’s immigration system is one name repeatedly flagged by whistleblowers and community leaders: Abdulrahman Pashua Juma. Described in a formal complaint as the operational linchpin of a multimillion-dollar racket, Pashua is alleged to be the man who turns institutional corruption into hard cash—one visa at a time.
According to the dossier filed by the Somali Community Task Group on Immigration Transparency, Pashua operates as the “field commander” of a syndicate allegedly overseen by Director General Cheluget. Based in Mombasa, Pashua is accused of controlling an unauthorized visa pipeline that bypasses official systems while exploiting desperate applicants, many of them refugees, foreign nationals, and diaspora citizens with limited options.
Witnesses allege that under Pashua’s command, applicants are charged between $175 and $200 per visa, despite the official government fee standing at just $34. The difference—hundreds of dollars per applicant—is reportedly siphoned off into an underground network of brokers, couriers, and protected insiders. Only the minimum legal fee is remitted to the state, while the surplus disappears into private pockets.
The scale is staggering. The complaint estimates that the network processes at least 1,200 visas every week, translating into $170,000 to $200,000 in unrecorded income weekly. Over a year, that figure balloons to nearly $10 million, money the complainants say fuels shadow political operations and enriches key players within the cartel.
Pashua’s alleged role goes beyond simple collection. He is accused of coordinating closely with Nairobi-based operatives who gather passports and cash from brokers in Eastleigh, before channeling them to his coastal network. From there, visas are fast-tracked through insiders said to have access to official systems, giving fraudulent applications a veneer of legitimacy.
Those who refuse to play along, the complaint claims, are punished. Applicants attempting to bypass the cartel reportedly face endless delays or unexplained rejections. Legitimate visa agents have been systematically squeezed out, creating a coercive environment where paying inflated bribes becomes the only viable path to service.
Sources within the Somali business community say Pashua’s name has become synonymous with control and intimidation. Brokers allegedly boast that nothing moves without his approval, and that challenging the system is futile. The message, they say, is clear: comply, pay, or be locked out.
Investigators familiar with the complaint describe Pashua as a crucial node in a tightly organized hierarchy—someone who translates high-level protection into ground-level enforcement. Without figures like him, the racket could not function. With him, it operates with ruthless efficiency.
The accusations remain allegations, but the evidence submitted is said to be extensive, including transaction trails, communication records, and named intermediaries. For community leaders, Pashua Juma represents more than an individual suspect. He is, they argue, the face of a system that has turned immigration into a private toll gate, monetizing vulnerability while hiding behind the authority of the state.
As pressure mounts for arrests and account freezes, one question looms large: if the man in the middle falls, will the entire structure finally be exposed?
KenyanHour 