Nine Ethiopians Sentenced To A Cumulative 9 Years In Prison Or Pay Sh1.8 Million Fine For Being In Kenya Illegally

MERU Kenya, July 18- Nine Ethiopians have been fined Sh200,000 each or serve one year imprisonment for being in the country illegally.

Tigania Senior Principal Magistrate James Macharia also ordered police not to release the vehicle in which the illegal immigrants were traveling in before being involved in an accident on July 16.

The Magistrate further ruled that the foreigners be deported to their country after paying the fine or completing their jail term.

Tigania West Ambrose Limo Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) was also ordered by court to liaise with National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) to establish the owner of Toyota Probox, registration number KCB 103H, and charge him in court with trafficking the illegal immigrants.

Preliminary investigations indicated that the vehicle belonged to one James Kirimi M’Imaana.

The driver of the vehicle escaped after the accident and is yet to be traced. The prosecution has however said police appear reluctant to pursue the driver.

“There is non-cooperation from the police yet this is a matter of national interest. These are the people who are bringing in a lot of aliens to Kenya and they are benefiting from this illegal trade. We would want to see them punished,” the prosecutor said.

The Ethiopians were seized after the rear tyre of the vehicle they were traveling in came off after hitting a bump at high speed at Nchiru market, along the Meru-Maua highway.

Court documents indicate that the incident caused a security scare after the Ethiopians together with the driver took off and fled on foot towards Meru University but could not access the institution.