The 19 Ethiopians remanded at a Machakos police station after they were arrested for being in the country illegally are demanding repatriation.
The aliens placed in Joska police station cells within the Athi River subcounty on Tuesday protested being in police custody, claiming they had been detained for a long time.
The suspects have been in the cells since August 30, 2024, after they were found hiding in a house within the Joska area following a tip-off from members of the public.
Their placement in the remand had been ordered by Kahawa Senior Principal Magistrate’s Court following an active Criminal Case NO. E. 102 OF 2024.
On Tuesday, they refused to take their breakfast and lunch and instead cried loudly after acting dead; they refused to speak.
The remandees are reported to have refused to take breakfast of tea and bread on Tuesday morning as they protested their detention.
“The 19 Ethiopian aliens who were remanded at the station for being in the country illegally pending repatriation today agitated; they have overstayed in custody for more than two months,” a police report seen by the Star reads in part.
“They are demanding to be repatriated back to their country of origin. They refused to take tea, speak, and are crying loudly."
A video seen by the Star shows the remandees crying loudly inside the police cells at the station. Independent sources told the Star that it wasn’t the first time the aliens refused to eat in the cells.
The incident happened days after 56 other aliens from Ethiopia were arrested after they were smoked from their hideout in Githunguri, Machakos County, on October 25, 2024. The aliens were arrested for allegedly being in the country illegally.
Athi River East subcounty police commander Anderson Mbae said the group didn’t have the necessary documents to allow them to be in Kenya.
“On Friday at about 5 pm, a report was made to Muungano police station that there were suspected many people holed up in one residential house. Police cordoned the scene and arrested 56 aliens of Ethiopian origin,” Mbae earlier told the Star by phone.
Mbae said the suspects’ ages were yet to be established due to the language barrier. They are all males.
“They barely speak or understand English,” Mbae said.
Police said the aliens appeared to be very weak during the arrest. The suspects, according to police, alleged that they were brought into the country by a female adult from Ethiopia, but the building’s tenant. She wasn’t present at the time of the arrest.
“The officers managed to arrest the house’s caretaker, a male adult aged 24, who is assisting police with investigations,” Mbae said.
The suspects had been detained at Mavoko SNP police station in Athi River pending further interrogation when an interpreter is availed and arraignment before Mavoko Law Courts for the offence of being in Kenya illegally.