Ethiopians tell court they were on way to South Africa

What you need to know:

  • When they were taken to court, a translator had to be sought as they spoke in their native Ahmaric language when they appeared before Resident Magistrate Abraham Gachie.
  • They all pleaded guilty to the charges and were fined Sh20,000 each in default to serve six months in prison before they are deported to their homes in Ethiopia.

Twelve Ethiopians who were arrested in Maralal for being in the country illegally have said they were travelling to South Africa.

The twelve were charged in a Maralal court on Tuesday for being in the country illegally.

All of them were arrested on February 22 at around 12 pm in Maralal Township in Samburu County.

When they were taken to court, a translator had to be sought as they spoke in their native Ahmaric language when they appeared before Resident Magistrate Abraham Gachie.

Eleven of them said they came from Hossana town and one from Mota town in Ethiopia. They told the court they were enroute to South Africa to join their relatives.

The Ethiopian nationals had been abandoned in Kirisia forest in Samburu Central sub-county where police found them.

Police acted on a tip off from members of the public who raised an alarm as the foreigners could only speak in their native language.

In their defence the accused said they did not know that they were in Kenya illegally.

Some of them pleaded with the court for forgiveness asking the magistrate to give orders for them to be taken back to their homes in Ethiopia so that they can continue with their lives as usual.

They all pleaded guilty to the charges and were fined Sh20,000 each in default to serve six months in prison before they are deported to their homes in Ethiopia.

A Kenyan driver who was ferrying the foreigners in a Toyota Prado vehicle was also charged with a traffic offence for failing to stop at a police roadblock in Marti area in Samburu North Sub County on the night of February 21. He was driving on the Baragoi-Maralal road.

Mr James Mbaya pleaded guilty to the offence and was fined Sh5,000.

The Prosecutor asked the court to treat all the accused as first offenders as they did not have previous police criminal records in Kenya.