Some of the suspects who appeared before Wajir (northern Kenya) Magistrate Rogoncho Bildad had gunshot wounds. They pleaded guilty to the charges.
They were sentenced to two years imprisonment or be released on a fine of 114,300 U.S dollars. They were be repatriated to their country after the sentence.
The aliens were intercepted by Kenyan security officers at Hadado area were travelling to Nairobi from the border town of Moyale, according to Wajir County Police Commander David Kirui.
Kirui said the injured Ethiopians escaped death narrowly after a deal between two gunmen involved in human trafficking went sour.
“The two gunmen who were involved in the trafficking disagreed with the aliens on the fee that they were supposed to pay; this led to a shootout between them. As a result two aliens and one of the brokers were killed,” said Kirui.
He said that the two groups were all armed with firearms. The aliens were upon arrest by security officers, taken to Wajir level four hospitals where they were treated from gun shots wounds.
Thirty-two Ethiopians aliens were last week repatriated back to their country after serving six months jails sentence in Wajir GK prison. They had been jailed for being unlawfully present in the county.
Security officials in Wajir have in the recent months had a rough time trying to stop the Ethiopian aliens who enter the country through the porous border in Wajir from Isiolo before heading to Nairobi.
Some of the them have been blamed for the attacks that have been carried in different parts of the country.
More than 200 Ethiopians enter Kenya illegally every month through the vast porous boundary which is largely unmanned.
On several occasions, Ethiopian illegal immigrants have been discovered locked up in congested rooms in Nairobi and Mombasa but the trade continues to thrive even as many were repatriated.
The immigrants are said to be using Kenya as their transit route to other countries such as South Africa or other European countries.
The Kenyan authorities have blamed the vastness of the region for the runaway influx of foreigners in to Kenya through Moyale on Kenya-Ethiopia borders.
Refugee rights organizations and aid agencies have blamed poverty in Africa for the rising cases of human trafficking.
They said that the huge supply of labor both skilled and unskilled makes them vulnerable to criminal syndicates.
Source : Xinhua
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