38 illegal immigrants arrested NairobiÕs Eastleigh

By Cyrus Ombati

Thirty-eight illegal immigrants have been arrested in a police swoop. The foreigners who included 28 Somalis, four Eritreans, five Pakistanis and one Congolese were arrested from different houses during the operation.

Police said the victims did not have legal documents. Nairobi Area PPO Anthony Kibuchi said they would continue with the operation across the city after it emerged there are many illegal immigrants.

ÒWe have realised there are so many such people here and we urge them to either register with the authorities or face the law,Ó said Mr Kibuchi. They were taken to different police stations, before they appear before court.

Those arrested on Monday night were taken to different police stations for grilling before they could appear before court.

Ethiopians arrested earlier

The arrests came days after 89 Ethiopians were arrested from a stuffy house in Uthiru area for being in the country illegally.

They were all staying in a four-bed roomed house and they took bread and tea daily as their meal.

The Ethiopians have started serving a three-month jail term after failing to raise a fine of Sh10,000 each.

The Ethiopians told Kibera senior magistrate Grace Nzioka they were on transit to South Africa where they had been promised jobs.

The magistrate noted the country was becoming a hub for human trafficking and deterrent measures were needed to check the crime.

Interestingly 39 of those arrested in Uthiru had earlier this year been nabbed in Kajiado area and sentenced to various jail terms for similar offenses but it is not clear how they found their freedom.

Police say most immigrants pass through the porous borders before ending up in Nairobi but fail to register or report to the immigration officials as required by the laws.

Investigations show some of the immigrants are behind a number of crimes where they stay, which is a concern to authorities.