The Kenya Police on Saturday, January 9, dismissed reports that there was a planned crackdown of Nigerians living in the country.
For the better part of Saturday morning, a notice attributed to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) asking landlords to report Nigerian tenants made rounds on various social media platforms.
The National Police Service, however, dismissed the report as a fake notice.
"We wish to inform the public that this statement is fake and does not originate from the desk of the DCI. Please disregard it," the police service stated.
The notice alleged that the landlords who are renting houses to Nigerians in Kilimani, Kileleshwa, Greatwall Gardens and Donholm are required to inform the police.
The order which has since been dismissed by the police added that any Nigerian married to a Kenyan is protected under the Kenyan law as a spouse.
The notice gained traction following reports that a Nigerian national was arrested in connection to the murder of a prominent city lawyer.
According to a statement by DCI, the Nigerian national Christian Kadima was traced to a lodge within Nairobi after evading homicide detectives for hours.
However, in a bill currently before parliament, landlords will be required to report to the National Intelligence Service (NIS) and give information regarding their tenants who may be suspected of being involved in drug trafficking.
The Narcotics, Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Control Amendment Bill, will require landlords to keep updating details of all their tenants.
The details include the names of the tenants, their postal addresses, phone numbers and email addresses.
The landlords will also be required to do background research of their tenants including places of work and home countries.
