Police on Monday, May 2, arrested about 60 Ugandan nationals in Nakuru County over suspected human trafficking.
Preliminary police reports indicated the foreigners were in transit to Nyamatong, Ethiopia for prayers at a religious event.
The Ugandan nationals were arrested for lack of travel documents and being in the country illegally.
Nakuru East Deputy County Commissioner Were Simiyu reported that the Ugandan foreigners did not have proper travel documents despite being on an international trip.
"Police officers on patrol arrested the Uganda nationals in Nakuru because they lacked proper clearance documents from the Immigration department," Simiyu told news reporters.
26 minors were among the Ugandan nationals arrested.
One of the suspects Isaac Adile, revealed that they had left Eastern Uganda on Sunday, April 30, 2023, and got stranded at the Nakuru bus terminus after they ran out of money.
"We were waiting for our pastor, Isaac to send us additional money to facilitate our journey to Ethiopia for evangelism under Christ Disciples Church for a week before returning to Uganda," he narrated.
Simiyu narrated that police became suspicious of the group of foreigners after learning they could not express themselves clearly in Kiswahili.
He added that police will only allow them to proceed with their journey once they produce proper travel papers.
This was not the first time foreign nationals were being arrested in Kenya, as on September 8, 2022, forty foreigners from Jordan were deported by immigration officers after they were arrested in Mombasa.
The 40 Jordanians were spotted on the streets of Mombasa and were arrested by the police on Sunday, September 4, 2022 after a tip-off from residents.
In another incident, 15 Chinese nationals were arrested on September 19, 2022, for allegedly practicing prostitution in South C area of Nairobi.
The Immigration Department explained the arrested Chinese nationals were reported to be operating a brothel in the estate.
Nationals of East African Community (EAC) member states do not need a visa to enter Kenya or Uganda and may also enter using a national ID card in place of their passport.
According to the Immigration Department, it's better for travelers to double-check that they have all the necessary documentation, including their passport, visa, and yellow fever vaccination certificate.
