Kenya to deport 200 aliens from six nations, IG David Kimaiyo reveals

IG David Kimaiyo says all illegal immigrants must be deported to their countries of origin. [PHOTO: STANDARD]

By CYRUS OMBATI

NAIROBI, KENYA: More than 200 more illegal aliens are to be deported after they were found to be in Kenya illegally in the ongoing security operation.

The government said 412 people will be repatriated to their designated refugee camps after they were found to have left there.

The refugees include 406 Somalis, two Ethiopians, one Congolese, two Ugandans and one Sudanese.

Of the 225 to be deported 214 are Somalis, six Ethiopians, two Ugandans, and one from Cameroon, Tanzania and South Sudan.

So far 82 Somalis have been deported to Mogadishu.

Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo said 1,136 people from 14 different countries have been screened at the Kasarani Stadium since the Operation Usalama Watch started on April 1.

Of these, 313 including 127 Kenyans, 120 Somalis, 50 Ethiopians, two Rwandese, four Tanzanians, three Ugandans and one German and American were taken to court and charged with various offences.

Those screened were 247 Kenyans, 782 Somalis, 68 Ethiopians and 14 Tanzanians, five Rwandese, three Congolese and nine Ugandans.

“The government policy is that all illegal aliens must be deported to their countries of origin. In this regard, the process of deporting 225 people is ongoing,” said Kimaiyo in a statement read by his spokesman Masood Mwinyi.

The victims were arrested in the operation in Nairobi alone. Police arrested more than 5,000 but released some before taking others to Kasarani, which is a screening centre but has been gazetted as a police station.

He said the operation will continue and has so far spread to other parts of the country including Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru and Nyeri.

The police boss said lack of political support from some people has affected the operation but vowed to continue with it because it is aimed at making the country safer.

Most of those in custody were individuals who are in the country illegally without valid documents, those who were outside the precincts of legally gazetted areas and those who had unauthenticated documents.

Kimaiyo said they are paying attention to documents that the suspects produce to justify their nationality which include IDs, passports, visa and work permits and refugee cards which can be manipulated by unscrupulous people.

He said he is aware many illegal immigrants have moved from Nairobi to other towns but said their days are numbered.

Some officers involved in the operation complained their resources were getting overstretched.

 “There is a crisis building because even our officers are getting tired. The government is yet to give resources like vehicles to enable the movement of these suspects,” said a senior officer aware of the operation.

Mwinyi said an additional 3,000 police officers who will graduate from the Administration Police Training College Thursday would be deployed in several areas including the city.

“We have boosted our operations ahead of the holidays and cannot say that there is a terror threat in the city” said Mwinyi.

The festivities will be held amid several security swoops in the city, which began two weeks ago in Eastleigh.

The Department of Refugee Affairs in Nairobi ordered all 600,000 refugees and asylum seekers to go back to their designated camps in Kakuma and Daadab.

The directive follows numerous cases of insecurity around the country and a major crackdown on suspected terrorists.