This archive report was first published on 2 October 2021.
On October 2, 2021, Kenya's government announced a crackdown on Saudi Arabian immigrants who are unlawfully in the nation.
The move comes as Kenya has seen a significant increase in the number of immigrants, particularly from Pakistan, who are transiting through the country on their way to Saudi Arabia.
According to data provided by the government, more than 20,000 Pakistanis have entered the nation since June, with approximately 8,000 of them departing.
Dr. Karanja Kibicho, Principal Secretary for the Interior and Citizen Services, stated that officials have seen a probable misuse of current free passage agreements between Kenya and Pakistan.
"The Kenyan Government is alarmed by the threat of the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic posed by the influx of foreign travel … The government has ordered an immediate crackdown on foreigners who are in the country illegally," he said in a statement.
The Department of Immigration and the National Police Service will now check the papers of all those who have arrived in the country in the recent past. Those without transit visas will be deported.
