Illegal immigrants arrested in Nairobi

By Cyrus Ombati

More than 130 aliens were arrested in Nairobi in a new operation aimed at getting rid of foreigners who are in the country illegally.

The Sunday night operation dubbed “Fagia Wageni” netted 81 Somalis, 47 Ethiopians, two Pakistanis, two Sudanese and one Briton.

Police said they all did not have papers to justify their stay in the country.

Nairobi Area police boss Anthony Kibuchi said the suspects were arrested from various city estates in the operation that he added would continue.

This, according to Kibuchi followed intelligence reports some of the aliens plan to commit crimes.

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“We will continue with the operation and we do not want to hear people claim that we are targeting a community. Let those who know they are here legally obtain papers to allow their stay,” said Kibuchi.

Other officials said the operation would spread to other provinces with an aim of ensuring refugees are back to their camps, if they are out there.

“There is no country that allows illegal immigrants to roam on the streets like we do. The exercise will spread all over the country and those arrested will be taken to court before being deported or taken to refugee camps,” said an officer co-ordinating the exercise but who asked not to be named.

Police say the number of illegal immigrants has been increasing in the country and they want to enforce the laws.

The operation came a week after 34 Ethiopians were arrested from a house in Nairobi’s Umoja estate for being in the country illegally.

The men who could not communicate in English and Swahili were found hiding in a house and are said to have stayed there for the three days.

They told police they planned to travel to South Africa where they would secure better jobs.

Police said they had been tipped off before they staged the raid at about 1pm.

The arrest came a week after police in Tanzania arrested survivors when 42 immigrants were found suffocated to death inside an overcrowded truck.

Seventy-four other people were inside the truck when it was stopped in central Dodoma province.

The problem is higher on immigrants from Ethiopia, most of whom claim are escaping persecution in their country.

Up to 500 are arrested in Kenyan every month while trying to transit to South African countries where they claim they seek jobs.