26 Ethiopians in court for being in Kenya illegally

The suspects in an Eldoret court on January 14, 2019. PHOTO | TITUS OMINDE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The court detained the suspects to allow police to complete investigations.
  • William Ndune, who is attached to the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit, said the Ethiopians might be victims of human trafficking.

Police in Eldoret on Monday arrested 26 Ethiopians in a guest house for being unlawfully in Kenya.

The foreigners were arrested alongside a staff member of Solution Lounge Guest House.

The employee, who works as a cashier, was arrested on suspicion of harbouring the aliens in the guest house.

The suspects were arraigned in an Eldoret court immediately after their arrest.

The court detained the suspects to allow police to complete investigations.

William Ndune, who is attached to the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit, said the Ethiopians might be victims of human trafficking.

 In his application before Senior Principal Magistrate Richard Odenyo, Mr Ndune asked the court to detain the suspects for eight days pending investigations.

Mr Ndune told the court that he needs time to verify the authenticity of the suspects’ passports and other documents confiscated from them.

The investigating officer further told the court that during the arrest, 20 mobile phones were recovered from the suspects.

He said that the mobile phones data will be analysed at the ATPU ICT laboratory in Nairobi to establish if it contains incriminating material.

The court did not rule on the application as the suspects wanted an Amharic interpreter.

The magistrate directed the suspects to be detained at Turbo Police Station until an interpreter is available.