Do you remember the belly dancers who were deported ?
Well the lawyer representing the eight Pakistani girls at the centre of a human trafficking probe wants two ministers ordered to pay them Ksh9,171,900 for their irregular deportation.
The belly dancers were arrested at Balle Balle Club in Parklands, Nairobi, on January 1. They were deported on January 4 for violating terms of their temporary passes that allowed them into Kenya, allegedly to promote transnational culture.
In court on Tuesday, lawyer Evans Ondieki prayed for the order against ministers Fred Matiang’i (Interior) and Rashid Echesa (Sports, Culture and Heritage).
Mr Ondieki told Milimani Senior Principal Magistrate Kennedy Cheruiyot that the girls should be compensated as they were deported despite having valid visas and special passes that issued by the State.
Mr Ondieki and Dr John Khaminwa, for the National Conservative Forum, asked the magistrate to issue the order to “discourage impunity by State officers”.
Immigration prosecutor James Machirah opposed their plea saying the girls were deported to prevent their psychological torture.
Mr Machirah further noted that the Tourism Regulatory Authority had not issued the girls with permits to perform in Kenya.
He added that the special visas allegedly issued by Mr Echesa were irregular.
Dr Khaminwa asked the court to direct Mr Machirah to file an affidavit detailing how the girls were evacuated from the safe house managed by Blue Heart International’s Nadeem Khan.
The girls and Balle Balle owner Safendra Kunar Sonwani were deported to India. A ruling on the lawyer’s plea will be issued at 2.30pm.