Prison break: 5 Eritrean nationals escape from Embakasi Police Station
Police officers in Embakasi, Nairobi County, have launched a manhunt for five Eritreans who allegedly escaped from the jail.
In a police report seen by the Nation, Ms Emily Obonyo, in charge of the report office, said five Eritrean nationals who were victims of human trafficking had escaped.
“She reported together with report office personnel Mr Joseph Kilipo and Ms Olga Munyoro that they had noticed five Eritrean nationals who were victims of human trafficking were missing during feeding of prisoners,” the police report filed at the station read in part.
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Investigations reveal that the five had excused themselves and headed to the bathroom, and the officers believed that they were taking a shower only for them to take too long.
It is then that Mr. Kilipo, who was on duty, decided to go and find out their whereabouts, and when he did not get them both at the sun-basking area, he raised the alarm.
“The washing buckets, clothes and other belongings were found at the washrooms. Efforts to trace them are still ongoing,” the police report read in part.
This comes at a time when Kenyan authority already handed its findings to the Netherlands on the operations of a Dutch national of Eritrean descent, identified as Mr. John Habeta, who allegedly led a human trafficking syndicate in the country.
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The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) said that the suspect, once in the Netherlands, was taken into custody at Schipol International Airport in Amsterdam.
Mr. Habeta had on several occasions managed to escape police dragnets across the globe until he was arrested in Kenya.
Interpol said that the suspect used fake identity documents to facilitate the traveling of the Eritrean nationals.
It had emerged that the five Eritreans who managed to escape from Embakasi station had been stranded in the country since January, when Mr. Habeta was arrested and deported.
Mr. Habeta used to smuggle human beings from Africa to Europe, Kenyan police through the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) said.
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The DCI said that he was linked to several operations within the country where groups of Eritrean nationals were smuggled into Europe through Asia.
“Immediately after his arrest, he was extradited to the Netherlands on orders from the Ministry of Interior,” the statement read.
Since then, the National Police Service (NPS) declared war against people who engage in such criminal activities saying that Kenya was not a haven for international fugitives.
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