Ethiopians abandoned in Kenyan bushes

NAIROBI, Kenya - Authorities in Kenya are holding at least 24 Ethiopians, who were being ferried to the country illegally, but the smugglers would later abandon them in thickets in the Eastern part of the East African nation.

According to the local media, the 24 Ethiopians were left stranded in a bush within Isiolo County and have since been taken to a holding cell awaiting their prosecution. Yearly, hundreds of illegal immigrants cross over to Kenya from Ethiopia.

They are said to have sought help in a local police station in the Merti area after their suspected smugglers left them on Sunday, the BBC reports. The smugglers were reportedly avoiding roadblocks along the Isiolo-Nairobi Highway, which connects the two countries.

The immigrants told police they were in transit to South Africa after crossing the Kenya-Ethiopia border. The foreigners are in police custody waiting to be arraigned for being in the country illegally. Police said they were pursuing the smugglers.

Kenya is a common transit route for Ethiopian migrants attempting to enter South Africa. Once they arrive in Nairobi, they are kept in concentration camps before being ferried to Tanzania, Mozambique, and later to the Republic of South Africa.

A few years ago, hundreds of dead bodies were discovered in Mozambique in a trailer they were traveling in, with autopsy indicating they died of suffocation. Reports indicated most of those who died were from Ethiopia and were heading to South Africa.

Cases of human trafficking and illegal immigration are common within the Kenyan border, with most of those involved said to be looking for greener pastures. South Africa, one of Africa's giant economies, is one of the most preferred destinations.

GAROWE ONLINE