Four Chinese nationals who were detained for allegedly assaulting a Kenyan at a restaurant in Nairobi will now face deportation to China following a court decision on Wednesday, February 26.
The four, Deng Hailan, Chang Yueping, Ou Qiang and Yu-Ling were arrested on February 9, following a public outcry after a video of a Chinese man caning a Kenyan employee went viral.
On Tuesday, February 25, the suspects applied for the court to grant them deportation.
The four stated that they were willing to leave the country barely a week after Interior CS Fred Matiang’i ordered their deportation.
During the proceedings, State prosecutors Jacinta Nyamosi and Everlyn Onunga noted that the Chinese were in the country illegally because they lacked work permits.
The state prosecutor also stated that they entered the country in 2019 on visitors' visas but the visas had since expired.
The Director of Public Prosecution, however, had sought more time from the courts to consult before agreeing to their application.
Appearing before Justice Luka Kimaru the accused stated that they were ready for deportation back to China as ordered by the interior CS.
In June 2019, Matiang'i issued orders for the deportation of four other Chinese nationals found engaging in business activities at Gikomba market in Nairobi.
The CS noted that the four were in the country illegally and were also operated in a manner that disadvantaged the local business persons.
The no-nonsense CS also ordered that all foreigners who were working as small scale traders in Kenya would be deported.
"We do not have a classification of foreign traders coming into the country to conduct trade or hawk," remarked Matiang'i as quoted by KBC.
