This archive report was first published on 1 October 2019.
Kenya: Tanzanian Beggars Exposed in Bomet ¶
Published on October 1, 2019
Two Tanzanian nationals, Emmanuel Masabuko and Deus Peter, were arrested and deported for operating a street begging ring in Bomet, Kenya.
On Monday evening, Masabuko, a disabled man, and his handler, Peter, were brought before Bomet Senior Resident Magistrate Kipkirui Kibowen and charged with being in Kenya illegally.
According to State Prosecutor Patriciah Kariuki, security officers had established that the two were not Kenyans and did not have identification documents or a permit to enter the country.
Defence lawyer Moses Leteipa confirmed that his clients had no documentation and had been misled into entering the country in the belief that there was a free movement of residents within the East Africa Community.
Mr Leteipa pleaded with the court to be lenient on the accused persons, who were remorseful for being in the country illegally.
The court directed that the two be deported to Tanzania as soon as possible, and the order be implemented by the Bomet Police Station OCS who should liaise with the Immigration Department.
According to a guard at the market, Mr Godwin Kipngetich Rotich, the disabled man was brought every morning to his favourite corner and taken away in the evening by his caretaker.
Mr Rotich said he witnessed the disabled man being used as a sympathy bait to lure people to give out money in what is a wider scheme to 'rob the innocent of their money without firing a shot'.
Police officers are investigating the matter with a view to nabbing the ring leaders involved.
