Police arrest nine aliens of Ethiopian origin

Nine aliens of Ethiopian origin were on Tuesday arrested at Miasenyi area in Voi along the Mombasa-Nairobi highway on their way to Mombasa.

Acting on tip off from members of the public, Nyangala division assistant County Commissioner Mohamed Yusuf mobilized his officers and interdicted the lorry when it stopped at a car wash along the busy highway.

Speaking to Citizen TV on phone, Yusuf said that they suspected those arrested could be heading to Mombasa to join either the Al Shabaab militia group or the outlawed Mombasa Republican Council (MRC).

Yusuf said police are on a high alert and will carry out major crackdowns on trucks along the highway to avoid such incidences.

The aliens and the truck are being held at Voi police station.

In January this year, police in Embu arrested 27 aliens from Ethiopia who were being ferried in three private cars to Nairobi and later to South Africa, only one day after four others were nabbed in Isiolo.

According to Embu County Commander Karisa Roba, police were tipped off by members of the public about four suspicious Probox cars driving at very high speeds at Chogoria along the Meru – Embu Highway.

Roba said police laid an ambush in Embu Town and upon seeing police vehicles; the drivers diverted and instead drove into the Njukiri Forest in Embu.

The third vehicle suspected to be carrying ten people, however, managed to escape and police have launched a manhunt for it.

The county commander noted that most of the aliens come from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia adding that they have confessed to having spent four days hiding in several forests in Meru County before proceeding to Nairobi.

Additional reporting by Maureen Murimi