Category: National News

Human traffickers transit Rwanda.

By: Patrick Bigabo

Human traffickers of Europe-bound Somalis have transited through Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda and flown out of Burundi for the past three months without any intervention from governments involved.

Kenyan Ambassador to Rwanda H.E. Ketter Alex disclosed to Business Daily that Rwandan immigration

officials have arrested and repatriated back to Kenya four Somali nationals with fake Kenyan passports while attempting to cross over to Burundi via the Kanyaru border in the Southern province.

“The Kenyan government found that Kenyan passports in question were illegitimate and that the bearers were not real Kenyan nationals but Somali nationals,” Ambassador Ketter said, adding that he was not aware that the Somalis traveling through Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi were being trafficked to a European destination.

According to records obtained by Business Daily Investigative desk, the Somalis intercepted with fake Kenyan passports include, Abdille Mohammed Isse Passport number A310029, Yosuf Mohammed Hassan A757333,

Hussein Ali Mohammed A546964 and Ali Hajji Hussein A968359.

Amb.Ketter also explained that the Kenyan Immigration officials discovered that the passport numbers of the faked passports were genuine but belonged to different holders some of whom are women. “The pages bearing photos of original holders were removed and replaced

with forged pages bearing photos of new Somali holders,” said Amb. Ketter.

The Somalis are allegedly trafficked to their final destination in Europe where they are used for sex business among other illicit jobs.

A source that craved anonymity confided to Business Daily that, “Acts of illegal human trafficking in the region targeting Somalis have been on-going in the past three months and recently

intensified following political instability in Somalia that has

displaced many into refugee camps in neighbouring Kenya”.

Efforts to obtain an official comment from the new Burundian

ambassador to Rwanda were fruitless as embassy officials argued that

the ambassador had just assumed office. However, when contacted a reliable source working with Burundian immigration at Kanyaru boarder

post admitted that persons carrying Kenyan passports have been crossing into Burundi in large numbers without disclosing the exact

figure.

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