Why human trafficking thrives along the Kenya-Tanzania border

Aliens of Ethiopian origin arrested in Kitengela, Kajiado county. [File, Standard]

The number of Ethiopia, Somalia, and Eritrea nationals trafficked through the Kenya-Tanzania border in Taita Taveta County is on the rise, according to security agencies.

More than 100 Ethiopian nationals were arrested last year as the lucrative human trafficking trade along the porous border continues to thrive.

Recently, immigration officials in Tanzania raised alarm over the increasing numbers of illegal immigrants sneaking into the country from Kenya.

Senior Kenyan government officials and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) Tanzania chapter have also decried the growing numbers of people entering Tanzania on their way to South Africa and Mozambique.

IOM representative in Tanzania, Enna Lutengano, confirmed that human trafficking cases had reached alarming levels in Tanzania following the interception of illegal immigrants en route to southern African states.

It is estimated that more than 12,000 illegal immigrants pass through Tanzania to southern African countries every year, according to IOM.

Immigration reports show that 1,840 Ethiopian and Somali  illegal immigrants were arrested in Tanzania last year, with the border between Kenya and Tanzania identified as the key entry point for the illegal immigrants.

Taita Taveta County Commissioner Josephine Onunga confirmed that the number of Ethiopians being arrested in the county has been on the rise. Onunga revealed that security and immigration officials arrested more than 100 Ethiopian nationals last year, mainly youths under the age of 20.

Dozens have been charged and jailed, while others paid fines and were repatriated to their country of origin, said the administrator.

“I can disclose that we have so far arrested more than 100 Ethiopian nationals in the county last year, and the problem has been compounded by the civil strife in Ethiopia. We will not allow trafficking agents to use the county as an exit route for aliens from Ethiopia to South Africa,” the administrator warned.

Ferry aliens

She noted that human trafficking cartels have been using lorries to ferry aliens to the county, where they are dropped in Tsavo or kept in waiting bays before being sneaked out of the country.

“Recently, we arrested 30 aliens of Ethiopian origin hidden in houses in Mwatate and Taveta sub-counties. They are kept for some time as the agents facilitate their movement,” Onunga disclosed.

Briefing The Standard, the administrator, who is also the chairperson of the County Security Committee, said the government is working to dismantle the human trafficking networks facilitating the movement of illegal immigrants in the region.

Intelligence sources revealed that human trafficking networks, drug smugglers, and other criminals use the 500 km Loitokitok-Taveta-Lungalunga border stretch for their illegal business.

Last month, police arrested a matatu driver ferrying about 10 Ethiopians to Taveta town. It has not been established whether the driver and the aliens have been charged.

Last week, two Ethiopian nationals escaped from Wundanyi Police Station under mysterious circumstances. One of the aliens has been rearrested, while the other remains at large, confirmed Onunga.

The commissioner said the two foreign nationals had been arraigned, paid a court fine for being in the country illegally, and were awaiting repatriation before escaping amid claims of collusion with security personnel.

“We have rearrested one Ethiopian national who escaped from lawful custody, and the other is still being sought by the police. The suspect who is still in police custody will be arraigned,” said Onunga.

The commissioner blamed the huge influx of Ethiopian nationals into the country on the civil strife in Ethiopia.

“We have been arresting young boys, aged between 16 and 24, from Ethiopia without documentation. We do not know where they have been going. Interestingly, the aliens, who do not speak Swahili or English, are being hidden by cartels who take advantage of the plight of minors to abuse their rights,” stated Onunga.

The incident comes as a report has identified additional smuggling routes, once again revealing Kenya’s intricate web of extensive criminal activity, with well-established local and international networks.

This report comes barely three months after the US Trafficking in Persons Report 2020 placed Kenya on the list of countries with the worst human trafficking trends in the world.

Multiple interviews noted that efforts to curb other criminal activities, such as ethanol and drug smuggling into Kenya, have included the prosecution of smugglers through coordinated efforts between security and customs teams.

These efforts have been supplemented by multi-agency border patrols and surveillance, roadblocks for truck inspections at border points, and the prosecution and dismissal of corrupt officers, according to state agencies interviewed.

Human rights activists said more extensive and focused multi-agency coordination between law enforcement and regulatory authorities would further enhance anti-smuggling efforts, especially along Kenya’s border points with Uganda and Tanzania.

Improved border management, increased surveillance, and the dismantling of illicit ethanol production factories could also reduce the inflow of unaccounted-for ethanol into Kenya, they added.

Further intelligence sources indicated that human traffickers could be using the Nairobi-Mombasa and Voi-Mwatate-Taveta highways, as well as the vast Tsavo National Park, to sneak foreigners into the county en route to South Africa.

“The human trafficking agents could be using the Nairobi-Mombasa route for human trafficking. We are looking for the suspected trafficking agents behind this thriving illegal activity,” warned Onunga.

However, what remains puzzling is how the immigrants manage to evade police roadblocks mounted from Nairobi to the county.

The Standard has, however, reliably learned that trafficking agents are using lorries to drop the aliens at Mtito Andei Township, where the suspects are then picked up by hired matatus and taken to the border.

“The foreigners are dropped at Mtito Andei, where matatus pick and ferry them to Taveta border town en route to Tanzania. This is a large syndicate that has been operating with the full knowledge of the security apparatus,” said our source.

On the other hand, Kenyan officials have blamed their Tanzanian counterparts for dumping Ethiopians on the Kenyan side of the border town instead of deporting them to their homeland.

Kenyan immigration officials argued that international law requires Tanzania to facilitate the return of Ethiopians to their country after completing their prison terms.

But Taita Taveta Human Rights Watch Chairman Haji Mwakio stated: “The border is vast and unmanned, and therefore easily enables traffickers to ferry victims of trafficking through the thicket.”

He noted that human trafficking is a result of vulnerability within households, due to poverty and unemployment.

Our sources, however, noted that the lack of enforcement of anti-human trafficking laws, especially in Kenya, and the lack of coordination between the Ministry of Internal Security and the Ministry of Labour, has led to a lack of awareness, which massively contributes to the thriving of local human trafficking networks in towns and especially among cross-border communities.

Mwakio disclosed that human trafficking victims found in Taveta include young girls who are duped by truck drivers into sexual relationships and moved across international borders for sexual exploitation.

Reports indicate that Tanzanian children come to Kenya to work on farms and to carry produce to the Taveta market.

Mwakio said that, with the help of immigration officials from both counties, they managed to rescue the victim, who had been engaged in child labour in Tanzania. “The boy is now under the care of the children’s department,” he revealed. It has not, however, been established whether the suspects have been arrested in connection with the incident.

Rights activists revealed that the victim was smuggled to Tanzania through the Taveta-Kitobo-Madarasani point to Moshi in Tanzania.

Further reports indicate that Tanzanian children come to Kenya to work on farms and to carry produce to the Taveta market. Additionally, Kenyan children with relatives across the border are also easily trafficked into Tanzania to undergo female genital mutilation.

Older girls from vulnerable households in Taveta are often recruited by local trafficking networks to work as housemaids in Taveta town, Voi, and even Mombasa. Many young girls from Taveta are also recruited by human trafficking agents and sent to the Gulf to work as housemaids.