A police officer in Kibish, Turkana North, has been apprehended on suspicion of assisting the unlawful entry of foreign nationals into Kenya through the Turkana County border. This marks the third such arrest in just one week, pointing to a disturbing trend of police officers allegedly involved in human smuggling.
According to reliable sources, these foreign nationals, hailing from neighboring Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Sudan, were attempting to cross Kenyan territory en route to South Africa.
The arrested police officer is suspected of aiding a group of 28 foreigners, the majority of whom are Ethiopians, in entering Kenya illegally.
The first arrest took place on Thursday night in Kibish, Turkana North, and was conducted in collaboration with the apprehension of two Kenyan drivers whose vehicles were used to transport the immigrants across the border through Kokuro, located along the Kenya-Ethiopia border.
The operation leading to the arrest was initiated after an informant reported two suspicious vehicles near Kokuro market. These vehicles stopped briefly before speeding off in the direction of the Ethiopian border through the Merikuka trading center. Shockingly, the informant’s call to Kokuro Police Station went unanswered.
Around 2100 hours, the law enforcement team spotted the lights of one of the vehicles speeding back from the Ethiopian border toward Merikuka trading center.
The team successfully intercepted the vehicle, but the police officer in question managed to escape on foot. However, the two vehicles involved, a Toyota Land Cruiser Hardtop and a Toyota Land Cruiser Pickup, both white in color, were intercepted and found to be carrying a total of 28 Ethiopian nationals, comprising 14 males and 14 females, including three young girls, according to an official police report.
Turkana North Member of Parliament, Paul Nabuin, expressed strong condemnation of the situation and accused police officers tasked with guarding the Kenyan borders of compromising the country’s security.
He stressed that the primary duty of the police is to protect Kenyan citizens, and it is deeply concerning that foreign nationals are gaining illegal entry into the country with the alleged assistance of police officers.
MP Nabuin called for a thorough investigation into these incidents and urged the transfer of senior officers who may be implicated in using junior officers to carry out such activities.
By xamse
October 15, 2023
