Kenya Court allows anti-terror police to hold Somali immigrants for five days

Somalia Citizens in an Eldoret court on April 19, 2023 for being in Kenya illegally. They have been detained for five days pending investigation. By Titus Ominde

NAIROBI, Kenya - A court in the Western town of Eldoret detained Somali immigrants for five days pending investigations, with the prosecution alleging that they have been engaging in criminal activities and are in the East African nation without official permits as required in the law.

Police say the seven immigrants are detained for allegedly participating in criminal activities contrary to Terrorism Act 30 of 2012. They were arrested by Anti-Terror Police Unit and will be required to submit evidence to the court to warrant continuation.

While making an application to detain them before Eldoret principal magistrate Barnabas Kiptoo on April 18, 2023, the investigating officer told the court the suspects who include three women and four men were arrested at an Eldoret hotel following a tip-off from members of the public.

At the time of arrest, investigations show, the seven did not have valid passports as required by the law. They were arrested on April 15th this year and police say, they do not understand the official languages of the country; English and Kiswahili.

Those arrested were identified as Abdikadir Ali Hussein, Aidarus Mohamud, Ahmed Koshin, Liban Abdi Sugule, Naima Yusuf Ahmed, Fartum Sugule, and Leylo Abshir. They are all Somali nationals and it is not clear how they sneaked into the country without being detected.

“We arrested them on April 15, they are suspected to be engaging in criminal activities in contravention of the anti-terrorist Act of 2012. They are in Kenya illegally contrary to the immigration act of 2011 and we want to detain them for five days pending investigation,” the investigating officer told the court.

Through a Somali interpreter, the suspects did not object to their detention and are currently held at Eldoret Central Police Station. The town, which is near the home of President William Ruto, hosts thousands of people of Somali origin.

“Since the accused have not objected to the application by the investigating officer, this court has ordered that they will be detained at Eldoret police station for five days to enable police to complete their investigations, “directed the Magistrate.

The matter will be mentioned on April 24, 2023. This is not a new phenomenon given that Kenya detains hundreds of immigrants annually with most coming from Ethiopia and Somalia.

It is not clear how they manage to cross over given robust regulations and security along the borders of the three countries.

GAROWE ONLINE