Tom Mboya Opiyo: I Quit Senior Position In Kenya For High Paying Job Abroad Only To Be Laid Off Days To Relocation

Imagine quitting a lucrative position in Kenya to pursue a new job abroad only for the position to fall through.

This is what befell Tom Mboya Opiyo, a Kenyan IT professional who previously worked with Unga Group Limited as Head of ICT.

Opiyo quit his job at Unga Limited after landing a job at American tech company, Amazon.

However, his planned relocation to Europe to work with the tech company was cut short after his position was affected by the company’s ‘annual operating review’.

“Sadly, it has fallen through due to business changes as part of the organization’s ‘annual operating review’ that impacted the role and many others,” Opiyo shared on LinkedIn.

Opiyo was expected to start his new job on Monday, January 16, but he received a call about the new changes four days before his rescheduled departure.

“My family is truly devastated after planning for the move for 6 months but I trust that God has a plan for us. They will go for counseling and I hope this helps,” he added.

For those who are looking forward to global appointments, Opiyo advised them to be aware of the risks that comes with such opportunities.

“Basically, don’t put all your eggs in one basket, something we learnt long time ago, don’t resign until you get the visa,” he stated.

Adding;

“The process has taken us over 5 months family document verification, police clearance, new passports, EU work authorization approvals in Europe, notarization and attestation of documents, etc. With bureaucracy in both countries, it’s a big problem and time consuming.”

This came after Opiyo sold most of their assets and household stuff in readiness for their relocation to Europe.

“In our case, the kids had left their schools, we sold the cars and households and even moved out of the house so now we have to start afresh,” he said.