This, as concerns grow over criminal networks smuggling East Africans both across the region and into foreign conflict zones.

According to police, officers acting on a tip‑off raided a house in the Ruai area on Monday and freed 66 Ethiopians and four Eritreans who had been held in confinement. Authorities say the group is now receiving assistance while investigations continue.

Speaking to Channel Africa on Friday, Correspondent Daniel Ominde said police have not released details of their interrogation of the rescued migrants, as the information is being used to track and dismantle trafficking syndicates.

He noted that Kenya has seen a rise in such cases in recent months. “Many of those trafficked come from Ethiopia, Burundi, Tanzania, and Kenya, and Kenya is often a transit route,” he said. “Some are moved southward to countries like South Africa, others towards the Middle East, where they end up working in conditions compared to modern‑day slavery.”

Kenyan lawmakers are also being pressed for action after families of citizens duped into fighting for Russia in Ukraine petitioned parliament to ban the recruitment of Kenyans for Moscow’s war. Ominde said fresh figures from the National Intelligence Service indicate that 89 Kenyans are currently fighting for Russia at the front lines, while 39 are hospitalised with war injuries.

A further 28 are unaccounted for and listed as missing in action. Only one death has been formally confirmed.

Ominde explained that most of those recruited were misled through trafficking networks. “They were promised civilian jobs in Russia or employment in military‑related industries,” he said. “But once they arrived, they were taken straight to the battlefield.”

–ChannelAfrica–