Thursday, January 05, 2017
By STEPHEN ASTARIKO
An aerial view of Garissa town. Photo/File
Some eight Somali immigrants yesterday were charged in a Garissa court with illegal stay.
The accused were believed to have come from Mogadishu and Hargeisa.
They are Hassan Khalif, Jama Kayas, Abdi Siyat, Mubarak Abdi, Osman Ahmed, Abdihakim Noor, Mohamed Abdi and Nura Yussuf together with her one-year-old daughter. They were arrested on Sunday at Kabobey trying to make their way into Nairobi through Garissa town.
Also arrested were five children aged between 12 and 17. The accused were arrested at around 5am by the Quick Response Police Unit from the Administration Police led by Waberi chief Yussuf Sheikh Ali, following a tip -off. They will take a plea after the results of their age assessment are out.
Garissa resident magistrate Victor Asiyo ordered the Garissa police chief to take those suspected to be below the age of 18 to the county referral hospital for age assessment.
There has been an influx of Somali immigrants trying to sneak into the county following the planned closure of Dadaab refugee camp. UN’s Refugee agency has welcomed the decision to extend the closure of Dadaab refugee camp.
However, it called for flexibility on the timeframe for the repatriation. Since 2014 some 35,000 Somali refugees have been supported in returning voluntarily to Somalia. The UN agency has also called on the international community to make adequate investments in Somalia.