Five Ethiopians stage hunger strike in police cells, demand repatriation

There was drama at Shauri Moyo Police Station on Monday after a group of Ethiopians in police custody pending repatriation to their country, staged a hunger strike.

The Ethiopians have demanded that the Kenyan government fast-tracks the process of sending them back home.

The five(5) Ethiopians were on August 19, 2024, arrested in the area for being in the country illegally and arraigned in court and police were ordered to plan their repatriation.

Police said they have been working with immigration officials to ensure they send the group back to their country.

The group has since Monday and Tuesday, refused to take their meals and said that they were on a hunger strike until their demand to be repatriated to their country is granted.

Police said they had asked the immigration officials to organise the repatriation amid fears some of the foreigners were becoming weak in the cells.

The foreigners continued their hunger strike on Wednesday, amid calls for their removal from the station to be sped up, officials said.

Treated as victims

Notably, they were not subjected to criminal charges, but were regarded as victims of human trafficking.

In recent years, Kenya has witnessed the periodic arrest and deportation of Ethiopian nationals who transit through the country or seek job opportunities within its borders.

Dozens of Ethiopians are arrested in the country as they try to use this route to other places like Tanzania, the Middle East, and South Africa.

They are reported to be lured to leave their country by the quest for employment.

Officials have cited corruption as one of the reasons why human trafficking continues to thrive.

According to police records, they are currently holding more than 100 Ethiopians in separate cells after they were arrested while on transit.

As part of efforts to tackle the menace, an Ethiopian national was sentenced in 2023 to 31 years in prison for trafficking 12 people.