Residents of Roysambu area in Nairobi are now a worried lot following the slow but sure return of foreigners from a West African country, suspected to be illegal immigrants.
According to some area residents, the foreigners, who had been deported from the neighbourhood nicknamed as Lagos, have been steadily returning to the estate.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on Thursday arrested 33 Nigerians in Kasarani who have been masquerading as students to as a smoke screen for drug peddling.
Also in police custody is a bar owner who runs his business behind Thika Road Mall (TRM) and who the police say is an accomplice of the immigrants.
According to Kasarani OCS Robinson Mboloi, the detectives nabbed a total of 34 immigrants, including one Eritrean.
“Detectives managed to arrest 35 suspects, a bar owner and 34 illegal immigrants who have been posing as students and operating businesses around the United States International University-Africa (USIU) and Kenyatta University (KU) after public outcry,” said Mboloi.
In March, residents of Roysambu expressed worry following the influx of the West Africans.
“They are already back six months after they were evicted from the estate. We fear that they will return with their criminal ways,” said one Mary Kamau, who runs a hotel in the area.
Mr James Tochi, a landlord in the estate, said that he recently rented out a two bed-roomed house to two foreigners, but presently the house is home to more than 10 occupants.
He claims his repeated warnings to his tenants have fallen on deaf ear. He however claims that the foreigners, unlike Kenyan citizens, pay rent in time.
“It is so hard to send them away because they pay rent in advance, even for a total of seven months. They are good for business but at the same time very stubborn,” he said.
The crackdown against the illegal immigrants kicked off following an order by the government that all foreigners in the country register afresh.
The order saw many of the foreigners evicted from the area with most of them being arrested, a move that attracted public outcry.
Kenya has not been a good receiver of visitors due to its stringent rules on foreign issues despite a move by President Uhuru Kenyatta that all Africans wishing to visit Kenya be issued with visas at the entry points.
Foreigners have also been accused of taking advantage of the order to engage in criminal activities.
A number of the foreigners, especially those from West Africa, have in recent times been arrested in connection with counterfeit money business, drug trafficking, sexual crimes and fraud.
In August 2018, 19 Nigerian nationals were arrested in Umoja, Kasarani and Roysambu estates in Nairobi over suspected internet scam targeting Kenyan Facebook users.