Security personnel in Garissa are investigating cases of human trafficking that are recently on the rise.
In what looks like a well-organised syndicate, the human traffickers are targeting young people in junior and senior secondary schools as part of a trafficking network operating between Kenya and Libya.
The traffickers are said to be targeting young boys aged between 13 and 20 luring them with a promise of well-paying jobs in Juba, South Sudan and Libya.
PANIC AMONG PARENTS
The incidents have caused panic among parents, who are now appealing to security agencies to intensify surveillance and arrest those involved.
The latest incident happened last weekend where a Garissa-based religious leader managed to rescue his son from the traffickers in Nairobi.
Sheikh Ahmed Aden, a muezzin who calls Muslims to prayer at Khalifa Mosque in Garissa town, expressed his shock at the turn of events saying had he not acted fast, things would have been different.
LINKS EXTENDING TO LIBYA
Addressing the press, Garissa subcounty police commander Samuel Boit said police are still investigating the human trafficking cases, which he noted have links extending to Libya and other Arab countries.
“We now have five cases where youths lured by the cartel were intercepted in Nairobi. We are still pursuing the cases, and very soon, we will apprehend those involved in it,” he said.
He added:
“We are appealing to parents and guardians to remain vigilant and talk to their children not to engage any stranger either physically or through the social media because the syndicate starts with a simple conversation which degenerates into something else.”
He also encouraged them to report such cases promptly to enable swift response and intervention to apprehend those involved in the rising incidents of human trafficking.
One of the victims (name withheld), who spoke at their home in the outskirts of Garissa town, described the ordeal he went through after being lured into the trafficking network.
“Blessings to Allah, we were rescued. I came to know the traffickers through a WhatsApp chat group with strangers who promised me a good job in South Sudan,” he said.
“They later asked me to bring along my best friends and arranged our transport to Nairobi, but we got scared after meeting them. The room was small, filled with shisha smoke that was suffocating and their conversations at night were terrifying. We all decided to escape and call for help, and thankfully, we succeeded. We are all back home now.”
Muktar Dahir, a human rights activists, called on the police to move with speed and unmask those behind the human trafficking syndicate. UNTOLD SUFFERING He said those who are smuggled to the Arab countries undergone untold suffering.
“These young boys are turned into slaves when they go to those countries. Their human rights are completely violated. Unfortunately it is then too late because they are already in the hands of their captives,” he said.
“So our appeal to the police is to get to the root of this thing and apprehend all those who are involved. Parents are now living in constant fear that their children might be victims.”
During Mashujaa Day celebrations, former Garissa Woman Representative Shukran Gure raised alarm over the human trafficking syndicate saying many families are losing their children in the hands of the traffickers.
She called on the police to arrest the situation before it is late.
