logo
Mourning mother's anger at Kenyan migrant smugglers

Mourning mother's anger at Kenyan migrant smugglers

Yahoo07-05-2025

As the sun set over Lake Turkana, a mother sobbed and threw flowers into the greenish-blue water to remember her teenage daughter who had drowned trying to reach Kenya via a new route being used by people smugglers.
Senait Mebrehtu, a Pentecostal Christian Eritrean who had sought asylum in Kenya three years ago, made the pilgrimage to north-western Kenya to see for herself where 14-year-old Hiyab had lost her life last year.
The girl had been travelling with her sister, who survived the late-night crossing over the vast lake, where winds can be powerful.
"If the smugglers told me there was such a big and dangerous lake in Kenya, I wouldn't have let my daughters come this far," Ms Senait told the BBC as she sat on the western shoreline.
ADVERTISEMENT
Ms Senait had arrived by plane in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, on a tourist visa with her two younger children, fleeing religious persecution. But she was not allowed to travel with her two other daughters at the time as they were older and nearer the age of conscription.
Eritrea is a highly militarised, one-party country - and often national service can go on for years and can include forced labour.
The teenagers begged to join her in Kenya, so she consulted relatives who told her they would pay smugglers to get the girls out of Eritrea.
The fate of the two girls was put into the hands of traffickers who took them on a weeks-long trip by road and foot from Eritrea into neighbouring Ethiopia - then to the south into Kenya to the north-eastern shores of Lake Turkana, the world's largest permanent desert lake.
A female smuggler in Kenya confirmed to the BBC that Lake Turkana was increasingly being used as an illegal crossing for the migrants.
ADVERTISEMENT
"We call it the digital route because it is very new," she said.
The trafficker, who earns around $1,500 (£1,130) for each migrant she traffics into or through Kenya (four times the average monthly salary of a Kenyan worker), spoke to us about her work at a secret location and on condition of anonymity.
For the last 15 years she has been part of a huge smuggling network that operates across Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and South Africa - mainly moving those fleeing Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia.
With Kenya having stepped up patrols on its roads, smugglers are now turning to Lake Turkana to get migrants into the country.
"Agents" on the new route, she said, received the migrants in the Kenyan fishing village of Lomekwi where road transport was organised to take them to Nairobi - a journey of about 15 hours.
ADVERTISEMENT
Warning of the dangers of travelling on the rickety wooden boats, she appealed to parents not to allow their children to make the crossing alone.
"I won't say I love the money I make - because as a mother I can't be happy when I see bad things happening to other women's children," she told the BBC.
"I'd like to advise migrants if they'll listen to me. I'd like to beg them to stay in their countries," she said, further cautioning of the callous attitudes of many traffickers.
Lake Turkana is the world's largest permanent desert lake [BBC]
Osman, an Eritrean migrant who did not want to give his real name for security reasons, made the crossing at the same time as Hiyab and her sister.
He recalled how Hiyab's boat capsized in front of his eyes not long after leaving the fishing village of Ileret as it was heading south-west to Lomekwi.
ADVERTISEMENT
"Hiyab was in the boat in front of us - its motor wasn't working and it was being propelled by a strong wind," he said.
"They were about 300m [984ft] into the water when their boat overturned, resulting in the deaths of seven people."
Hiyab's sister survived by clinging to the sinking boat until another vessel - also operated by the smugglers - came to the rescue.
Ms Senait blamed the smugglers for the deaths, saying they overloaded the boat with more than 20 migrants.
"The cause of deaths was plain negligence. They put too many people in a small boat that couldn't even carry five people," she said.
During the BBC's visit to Lomewki, two fishermen said they saw the bodies of migrants - believed to be Eritreans - floating in the lake, which is around 300km (186 miles) long and 50km wide, in July 2024.
"There were about four bodies on the shores. Then, a few days later other bodies appeared," Brighton Lokaala said.
Another fisherman, Joseph Lomuria, said he saw the bodies of two men and two women - one of whom appeared to be a teenager.
In June 2024, the UN's refugee agency, UNHCR, recorded 345,000 Eritrean refugees and asylum seekers in East Africa, out of 580,000 globally.
Like Ms Senait's family, many flee to avoid military conscription in a country that has been embroiled in numerous wars in the region, and where free political and religious activity is not tolerated as the government tries to keep a tight grip on power.
Uganda-based Eritrean lawyer, Mula Berhan, told the BBC that Kenya and Uganda were increasingly becoming the preferred destination of these migrants because of conflict in Ethiopia and Sudan, which both neighbour Eritrea.
The female smuggler said in her experience some of the migrants settled in Kenya, but others used the country as a transit point to reach Uganda, Rwanda and South Africa, believing it easier to get refugee status there.
The smuggling network operates in all these countries, handing over migrants to different "agents" until they reach their final destination, which - in some cases - can also be Europe or North America.
Her job is to hand over those migrants who are in transit in Nairobi to agents who keep them in "holding houses" until the next leg of their trip is arranged and paid for.
By this stage each migrant has probably paid around $5,000 for the journey up to that point.
The BBC saw a room in a block of flats that was being used as a holding house. Five Eritrean men were locked inside the room, which had one mattress.
In the holding houses, migrants are expected to pay rent and also pay for their food - and the smuggler said she knew of three men and a young woman who had died of hunger as they had run out of cash.
She said the agents simply disposed of the bodies and called their deaths bad luck.
"Smugglers keep lying to the families saying their people are alive, and they keep on sending money," she acknowledged.
Women migrants, she said, were often sexually abused or forced to get married to male smugglers.
She said she herself had no intention of giving up the lucrative trade but felt others should be aware of what could be ahead of them.
It is little comfort for Ms Senait, who still mourns the death of her 14-year-old while expressing relief that her elder daughter survived and was unharmed by the smugglers.
"We have gone through what every Eritrean family is going through," she said.
"May God heal our land and deliver us from all this."
The map showing the route some Eritreans are now taking to travel to Kenya and Uganda [BBC]
You may also be interested in:
[Getty Images/BBC]
Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.
Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica
BBC Africa podcasts

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

What to know about Trump's travel ban taking effect Monday
What to know about Trump's travel ban taking effect Monday

Yahoo

time6 hours ago

  • Yahoo

What to know about Trump's travel ban taking effect Monday

DAKAR, Senegal — President Donald Trump has banned citizens of 12 countries from entering the United States and restricted access for those from seven others, citing national security concerns in resurrecting and expanding a hallmark policy from his first term that will mostly affect people from Africa and the Middle East. The ban announced Wednesday applies to citizens of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. The heightened restrictions apply to people from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela who are outside the U.S. and don't hold a valid visa. The policy takes effect Monday at 12:01 a.m. and does not have an end date. Here's what to know about the new rules: Since returning to the White House, Trump has launched an unprecedented campaign of immigration enforcement that has pushed the limits of executive power and clashed with federal judges trying to restrain him. The travel ban stems from a Jan. 20 executive order Trump issued requiring the Department of State, Department of Homeland Security and the Director of National Intelligence to compile a report on 'hostile attitudes' toward the U.S. The aim is to 'protect its citizens from aliens who intend to commit terrorist attacks, threaten our national security, espouse hateful ideology, or otherwise exploit the immigration laws for malevolent purposes,' the administration said. In a video posted on social media, Trump tied the new ban to a terrorist attack last Sunday in Boulder, Colorado, saying it underscored the dangers posed by some visitors who overstay visas. The man charged in the attack is from Egypt, a country that is not on Trump's restricted list. U.S. officials say he overstayed a tourist visa. 1. Green card holders2. Dual citizens, including U.S. citizens who also have citizenship of one of the banned countries3. Some athletes: athletes and their coaches traveling to the U.S. for the World Cup, Olympics or other major sporting event as determined by the U.S. secretary of state4. Afghans who worked for the U.S. government or its allies in Afghanistan and are holders of Afghan special immigrant visas5. Iranians belonging to an ethnic or religious minority who are fleeing prosecution6. Certain foreign national employees of the U.S. government who have served abroad for at least 15 years, and their spouses and children7. People who were granted asylum or admitted to the U.S. as refugees before the ban took effect8. People with U.S. family members who apply for visas in connection to their spouses, children or parents9. Diplomats and foreign government officials on official visits10. Those traveling to U.N. headquarters in New York solely on official U.N. business11. Representatives of international organizations and NATO on official visits in the U.S.12. Children adopted by U.S. citizens13. People from targeted countries who already have valid visas, although the Department of Homeland Security still has the authority to deny entry, even to those with a valid visa Trump said nationals of countries included in the ban pose 'terrorism-related' and 'public-safety' risks, as well as risks of overstaying their visas. He also said some of these countries had 'deficient' screening and vetting or have historically refused to take back their citizens. His findings rely extensively on an annual Homeland Security report about tourists, businesspeople and students who overstay U.S. visas and arrive by air or sea, singling out countries with high percentages of nationals who remain after their visas expired. 'We don't want them,' Trump said. The inclusion of Afghanistan angered some supporters who have worked to resettle its people. The ban makes exceptions for Afghans on special immigrant visas, who were generally the people who worked most closely with the U.S. government during the two-decade war there. The list can be changed, the administration said in a document, if authorities in the designated countries make 'material improvements' to their own rules and procedures. New countries can be added 'as threats emerge around the world.' The State Department instructed U.S. embassies and consulates on Friday not to revoke visas previously issued to people from the 12 countries listed in the ban. In a cable sent to all U.S. diplomatic missions, the department said 'no action should be taken for issued visas which have already left the consular section' and that 'no visas issued prior to the effective date should be revoked pursuant to this proclamation.' However, visa applicants from affected countries whose applications have been approved but have not yet received their visas will be denied, according to the cable, which was signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio. And, unless an applicant meets narrow criteria for an exemption to the ban, his or her application will be rejected starting on Monday. Early in Trump's first term, he issued an executive order banning travel to the U.S. by citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries: Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. It was one of the most chaotic and confusing moments of his young presidency. Travelers from those nations were either barred from getting on flights to the U.S. or detained at U.S. airports after they landed. They included students and faculty, as well as businesspeople, tourists and people visiting friends and family. The order, often referred to as the 'Muslim ban' or the 'travel ban,' was retooled amid legal challenges until a version was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018. That ban affected various categories of travelers and immigrants from Iran, Somalia, Yemen, Syria and Libya, plus North Koreans and some Venezuelan government officials and their families.

ICE moves to dismiss cases in bid to fast-track deportations after courthouse arrests
ICE moves to dismiss cases in bid to fast-track deportations after courthouse arrests

Yahoo

time7 hours ago

  • Yahoo

ICE moves to dismiss cases in bid to fast-track deportations after courthouse arrests

As Vadzim Baluty watched his son Aliaksandr Baluty get arrested by six plainclothes U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers directly after an immigration court hearing, he had the sinking feeling he'd made a costly mistake. Vadzim Baluty, accompanying his son for his first court appearance in his asylum bid, agreed last month when an ICE prosecutor offered to drop the case against the recent Belarusian migrant, not realizing his son would be swiftly detained as soon as the pair exited the courtroom. 'I felt like we had fallen into a judicial trap,' he said in Russian through an interpreter in an interview with The Hill. 'We left the courtroom and an ICE officer told us our son was going to be deported in three days. Nobody told us the decision that we made — what it was going to cause.' ICE prosecutors across the country are increasingly moving to dismiss cases against migrants in a bid to fast track their deportations. While a dismissal might seem like the end of a battle to remain in the county, some leaving courthouses have instead been met by ICE agents who are then free to arrest them and place them in expedited removal proceedings, speeding their deportation without a court hearing. Rekha Sharma-Crawford, an immigration lawyer and board member with the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) called it a 'bait and switch.' 'The troubling thing here is that people are doing the right thing and going to court. They hear what they think is great news, that their case is dismissed. But instead, they are subject to a bait and switch and a plainclothes ICE agent will then arrest them. They are detained and then they are pressured to sign documents that basically sign away all of their rights, and they are subject to expedited removal and don't have a chance for a full and fair hearing,' she said in a call with reporters. Vadzim Baluty, a 47-year-old Belarusian political activist who was granted asylum in 2022 after fleeing the Lukashenko dictatorship, thought ICE was aware of his petition to bring his children to the country. He also didn't think Aliaksandr Baluty, now 21, would be deported after entering the country legally. His son was permitted to enter the U.S. through Mexico after waiting in the country seven months for an appointment made through the Biden-era CBP One app. Such a dynamic has only become possible with the shift from the Trump administration, which has expanded the scope of expedited removals. While the process previously was used only for migrants within two weeks of their entering the country and within 100 miles of the border, the Trump administration now allows the tool to be used up to two years after a person enters the U.S. regardless of where they are in the country. Critics call the move an end run around due process and fault the administration for using ICE officers who are often not in uniform and may be wearing masks. Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) went to an immigration courthouse in his district last week, sitting in on court proceedings and witnessing ICE prosecutors dismiss cases followed by migrants being arrested by plainclothes agents as they exited — something he called 'Gestapo-like behavior.' 'The Department of Homeland Security has implemented, over the last week, a coordinated effort to do an end run around our legal system in order to remove nonviolent, noncriminal immigrants trying to come into this country through a lawful pathway of immigration proceedings, and in many cases, asylum proceedings,' he said at a press conference afterward. 'By recommending dismissal of their cases, the Department of Homeland Security is essentially taking jurisdiction away from the court, removing the asylum application from going forward, and then allowing the immigration agents to arrest these people and put them in a deportation proceeding under a different authority than the one that they just dismissed, which has fewer rights and applies in very few circumstances.' Sharma-Crawford said it's especially confusing for pro se litigants — those representing themselves in court. Not only are they being approached by plainclothes officers, but they may not know what to do next. Those placed in expedited removal are not entitled to a hearing, but they can request an interview with an asylum officer if they fear they will be persecuted if returned to their home country. If they pass that screening, their case could be returned to immigration court. Vadzim Baluty has since hired attorney Malinda Schmiechen to represent his son, who asked for the credible fear interview that would route his case back into the immigration court system. Aliaksandr Baluty told them how during a visit to register for the mandatory draft, military officials in the country made a veiled comment about his father and said they were going to teach him to 'love the motherland.' Another officer in the room said, 'You will be in the army for your father.' 'The draft officer said that I — in the army — I would be punished for my father,' Aliaksandr Baluty told an asylum officer, according to a transcript of the interview his attorney shared with The Hill. At his father's advice, Aliaksandr Baluty fled that night to nearby Georgia. Military officials later showed up at his mother's house with a forged conscription document, saying they would prosecute him as a draft dodger. Schmiechen was informed Thursday night, however, that an asylum officer rejected the claim, calling it 'a betrayal all around.' 'I feel like this is a betrayal against our law, against the America that is a sanctuary for so many, and against young Aliaksandr, who fled for his life and seeks to live peacefully with his family,' Schmiechen told The Hill. 'It's a betrayal because the government attorneys betrayed the law with their motion to dismiss, knowing that it would lead to Aliaksandr's detention. It's a betrayal because the American government is using taxpayer money unnecessarily to detain Aliaksandr, and it's a betrayal to Aliaksandr, whose detention is treating him like a criminal, though he's not one.' The arrests come as the GOP at large has vented frustration at the immigration court system, where cases can languish in a years-long backlog. The Department of Homeland Security defended the courthouse arrests as well as their use of expedited removal. 'Most aliens who illegally entered the United States within the past two years are subject to expedited removals. Biden ignored this legal fact and chose to release millions of illegal aliens, including violent criminals, into the country with a notice to appear before an immigration judge. ICE is now following the law and placing these illegal aliens in expedited removal, as they always should have been,' the department said in a statement. 'If they have a valid credible fear claim, they will continue in immigration proceedings, but if no valid claim is found, aliens will be subject to a swift deportation.' Goldman also criticized ICE for using plainclothes officers, saying that in his observations, agents had printed out photos of those they would be arresting and were often wearing masks. 'When I asked them, 'Why are you wearing a mask?' One person told me, 'Because it's cold.' I asked him if he would testify to that under oath, and he walked away and wouldn't respond to me,' he said. 'Another person admitted that they were wearing masks so that they are not caught on video. And my question to them is: 'If what you are doing is legitimate, is lawful, is totally aboveboard, why do you need to cover your face?'' Schmiechen said she's working quickly to explore other options for Aliaksandr Baluty, including requesting that his credible fear claims be reviewed by an immigration court judge. If that doesn't work, she's planning to make a filing in federal court. 'I just feel like we don't have much time at this point,' she said. To Vadzim Baluty, the whole episode has chilling parallels with what he experienced in Belarus. 'This is how it began,' he said. The arrest of his son, just feet from the courthouse doors, happened in less than 60 seconds and left him in shock. He said he never imagined the words 'stop prosecution' could have led to 'expulsion from the country and separation of father and son.' 'Everything is starting to remind us that we are not in a free country. What is happening today is vaguely reminiscent of the birth of a dictatorship, when they categorically begin to solve the political issue at the moment with immigration,' he said. 'I don't feel safe now. None of the immigrants feel safe in the U.S.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

British soldier arrested in Kenya over what UK media report is a rape accusation
British soldier arrested in Kenya over what UK media report is a rape accusation

Washington Post

time14 hours ago

  • Washington Post

British soldier arrested in Kenya over what UK media report is a rape accusation

LONDON — A member of Britain's armed forces has been arrested in Kenya and U.K. military police are investigating, the Ministry of Defense said Sunday. The BBC and other British media reported that a British Army soldier was accused of rape. 'We can confirm the arrest of a Service person in Kenya,' the defense ministry said in a statement. 'As the matter is the subject of an ongoing investigation by the Defence Serious Crime Command, we will not comment further.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store