Police arrest 56 Ugandans for being in the country illegally
The 56 Ugandan nationals who were arrested in Nakuru town for being in the country illegally.
At least 56 Ugandans, on transit to Ethiopia for ‘prayers,’ were on Tuesday morning arrested in Nakuru town, for being in the country illegally.
The 29 adults and 27 children (between 1-5 years) said they were headed to Ethiopia, through Kenya for prayers.
Police say the aliens, who did not have travel documents, were arrested at a bus terminus, in Nakuru town where they had stopped for refreshments.
According to Nakuru East sub county Deputy County Commissioner Were Simiyu, police got a tip off from a a concerned member of public, who spotted an abnormal movements of the aliens at the bus terminus.
“The Ugandan nationals did not have travelling documents to show they were here legally. They are deemed illegal immigrants. They said that they were heading to Ethiopia for prayers,”said Mr Simiyu.
Police said that the foreigners sneaked into the country via the Kenya-Uganda border in Busia.
Mr Simiyu said that officers rushed to the bus terminus on a mission to establish where they were heading to and whether they had travel documents.
After inquiry, detectives established that they were from Ngora district, in Eastern Uganda and were heading to Ethiopia but they had no travelling documents.
He said that they further told officers that they are members of a church and were going for a church mission, to pray for the people in Ethiopia.
Mr Simiyu said that the 56 will be repatriated back to their country, so that they can have their travel documents processed before they embark on their journey to Ethiopia.
“We have decided that because these are our friends from a neighboring country and do not have proper travel documents, we will take them back to their country so that they can get their papers processed and plan for their travel,” added the administrator.
“It is of concern to see a large number of people travelling all the way from Uganda without proper preparations and documentation. Most of the things they are carrying are their belongings, which are not in good condition, “he said.
After the arrest, the foreigners also told police that their pastor was on his way to Nakuru to secure their release.
“We have launched investigations to establish the person whom they are referring to as their pastor who is on the way coming to Nakuru.We are tracking his number so that we can interrogate him as well,” said Mr Simiyu.
Mr Isaac Adile,27, a resident of Ommo village in Uganda said that they are members of Christ Disciples Church(CDC) headed by their prayer leader identified as Isaac Omiata.
He said that they were going for a one-week church conference at their church branch in Ethiopia.
“We were stranded after arriving in Nakuru, our leader who has our bus fare remained behind because of transportation challenges. We are travelling with children since the schools are closed. We were brought here for interrogation. We are not related to any cult church,” he said
