Four Ethiopian nationals were on Monday fined Sh30, 000 each or serve four months in jail by a Narok Court for being in Kenya illegally.
The quartet; Galato Talago, age 20, Mitko Kasa,22, Abraham Lagusa,19 and Bayene Temere, 25 appeared before Narok Chief Magistrate, Mr George Wakahiu, where through an interpreter who spoke to them in Amharic, they pleaded guilty to the charges of being in the country without valid documentations.
The Magistrate also ordered that the aliens will be repatriated after either paying the fine or serving the sentence.
The Court heard that on May 1, this year at around 7:03pm, the members of the public saw the four looking stranded at Oleikarere area in Duka Moja in Narok East Sub-county and alerted the police who took them in for interrogation.
In mitigation, the accused persons pleaded for leniency, saying they had come in the country to look for greener pastures to support their families back home.
However, the Magistrate said he noted the mitigation but they needed to go through the customs and acquire legal documents before coming into the Country.
The porous border between Kenya and Ethiopia has been said to facilitate the south-bound movement of illegal migrants from Ethiopia through Kenya to South Africa on a 6, 000 kilometer journey using the Trans-African Highway.
It’s also believed to be used in smuggling contraband goods into the Country.
By Mabel Keya -Shikuku
