Kenya has been flagged as a source, transit, and destination country for persons subjected to forced labour and sex trafficking in East Africa.
It notes that Kenya continues to host illegal recruiters, who maintain networks in Uganda and Ethiopia, which recruit Rwandese, Ethiopian, and Ugandan workers through fraudulent offers of employment in the Middle East and Asia.
Two Burudian were rescued from a Kenyan Human trafficker by the detectives officers following a tip off from the members of the public.
“A Kenyan Human Trafficker-Francis Njuguga Kagunda was yesterday arrested by @DCI_Kenya Detectives and his two #Burundian victims; 29-year-old Nduwimana Gretta and 31-year-old Nzigimana Rebecca rescued. The two were intercepted as they prepared to board a plane to Saudi Arabia”.DCI tweet
The Trafficking in Persons Report further finds fault in the government for prosecuting trafficking crimes as immigration or labour law violations which attract less stringent sentences.
Counter-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2010 criminalised sex and labour trafficking and attracts punishment of no less than 30 years imprisonment or a fine of not less than Sh30 million.
In 2017, the government reported 35 investigations of potential trafficking cases, compared to 530 in 2016, many of which included smuggling and other trafficking-related crimes.
“Corruption remained endemic at all levels of government, and traffickers were able to fraudulently obtain identity documents from complicit officials, and police often took bribes to warn traffickers of impending operations and investigations,” the report reads.
The shortcomings have for the fourth time in a row earned Kenya a Tier 2 in offering protective policies and laws against human trafficking, citing the country’s lack of compliance with the minimum standards for elimination of human trafficking.
Countries in Tier 2 category are those that do not fully meet the Trafficking Victims Protection Act’s but