This archive report was first published on 2 October 2019.
Kenya: Deportation of Two Tanzanians Exposes Street Begging Cartel ¶
Published on October 2, 2019
Kenya's Immigration Department has unmasked a street begging ring operating in the country, with the deportation of two Tanzanian nationals.
Emmanuel Masabuko, a disabled man, and his handler Deus Peter were arrested on Friday evening at the Bomet market and charged with being in Kenya illegally.
According to State Prosecutor Patriciah Kariuki, security officers had established that the two were not Kenyans and had no identification documents or permit to enter the country.
Defence lawyer Moses Leteipa confirmed that his clients had no documentation and had been misled into entering the country under 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 and undertook to return to their country of origin.
The court directed that the two be deported to Tanzania as soon as possible, with the order to be implemented by the Bomet Police Station OCS and the Immigration Department.
Godwin Kipngetich Rotich, a guard at the market, witnessed the disabled man being brought every morning to his favourite corner and taken away in the evening by his caretaker.
Mr Rotich stated that the disabled man was not the only foreign beggar in the streets, with several others having been arrested and prosecuted in similar operations.
However, new faces keep popping up at the same corner, indicating a porous border between Kenya and Tanzania that provides entry points for undocumented foreigners.
According to an officer involved in the operation, the cartel that runs the begging ring mints thousands of shillings on a monthly basis and supplies the streets with disabled people for the 'business'.
The police are investigating the matter with a view to nabbing the ring leaders involved.
