Eastleigh college closed, 50 immigrants arrested
What you need to know:
- The foreigners — who are students and staff at Alison Community College — are from Somalia, with one Ugandan.
More than 50 illegal immigrants were arrested yesterday at a college in Eastleigh, Nairobi, in a police operation targeting unregistered institutions.
The foreigners — who are students and staff at Alison Community College — are from Somalia, with one Ugandan.
The college was also closed as it is not registered by the Technical and Vocational Education and Training Authority (TVETA).
TVETA Director-General Kipkirui Langat said the raid, carried out by the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit (ATPU), was prompted by intelligence reports on illegal activities and possible breaches of security at two colleges in Eastleigh.
The officers also raided Atlas College but it was found to be validly registered.
“We’ve closed the college (Alison) until it is registered by law,” Dr Langat said.
Most of the foreigners did not have identification documents, while some had expired visas and passports.
FAKE DOCUMENTS
Others had fake documents — Kenyan birth certificates and national identity card waiting slips. The Ugandan man, Mr Mubakari Wedeheye, is indicated as a female on his ID.
An officer attached to the ATPU told the Nation the suspects would be taken to the unit headquarters in Upper Hill. They will later be processed in court for repatriation.
He said that of concern is the teaching of Kiswahili and English, the most popular courses at the college, that are taught from beginner to advanced levels.
“With proficiency in English and Kiswahili, they apply for legal documents as Kenyans. Since free primary education was introduced in 2003, all Kenyans below the age of 20 have gone to school and can express themselves in either English or Kiswahili,” said the officer.
Mr Ali Yussuf, a staffer, claimed the college was registered but he could not produce any documents to back the claim.
