Kenya Wednesday announced a crackdown on illegal immigrants from Pakistan and imposed a freeze on the free transit arrangements it has with the Asian country in a bid to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
The Interior Ministry said it was reacting to the surge in numbers of Pakistanis passing through the country on their way to Saudi Arabia. The groups have been arriving in large numbers since last week, taking advantage of softer conditions on travellers from Kenya to the Middle East concerning Covid-19 regulations.
Dr Karanja Kibicho, the Interior and Citizen Services Principal Secretary said authorities had noted a possible abuse of existing free transit arrangements between Kenya and Pakistan.
The Kenyan Government is alarmed by the threat of the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic posed by the influx of foreign travel … The government has ordered an immediate crackdown on foreigners who are in the country illegally,” he said in a statement.
“The government will restrict the number of foreigners transiting through the country to levels that do not pose a risk to Kenya’s national interests.”
The Department of Immigration and the National Police Service will now check the papers of all those who have arrived in the country in the recent past. Those without transit visas will be deported.
Freeze transit visas
On Wednesday, the Nation also learnt the Immigration Department will freeze further transit visas to Pakistanis in a bid to limit their numbers. The two countries have had an arrangement where travellers on transit visas can enter the country for free as they await reconnecting flights. For the Pakistanis heading to Saudi Arabia, for instance, staying around for 10 days allows them enough quarantine days with which they can use.