Tanzania refutes claims of trafficking people to Mombasa for begging
Beggars are viewed as a burden by some city authorities. PHOTO | COURTESY
What you need to know:
Claims by Kenyan officials that Tanzanian citizens are trafficked to work as beggars in Mombasa are refuted by the Tanzanian government, leaving their origin a mystery
- The immigration chief says the matter should have followed proper channels before making it public
Dar es Salaam. The government has refuted claims of its citizens being trafficked to neighbouring Kenya for begging.
A recent video clip depicts officials in Mombasa County alleging that Tanzanian nationals are being trafficked to the neighbouring country for begging in the streets.
However, when contacted for comment, Foreign and East African Cooperation ministry Permanent Secretary Joseph Sokoine was caught unawares, saying,“I’m hearing it for the first time from you. Let me follow up and get back to you.”
However, the Immigration Force Commissioner of Citizenship and Passport, Mr Gerald Kihinga, said such claims require confirmation.
“The suspects should be arrested by law enforcers in the neighbouring country and let Tanzania Embassy officials in Nairobi verify whether they are Tanzanians or not,” he said on the phone.
“This is because you can’t make public the issues you are not sure about. Unless the suspects arrested are in possession of Tanzanian passports, this might trigger serious diplomatic problems,” he added.
In the video clip, Mombasa County government in charge of operations at the inspectorate department Halima Setritoi said a recent operation conducted in the county arrested a total of 106 beggars some of them pretending to have disabilities.
She said a girl aged between seven and eight was arrested pretending to have physical disability as she used a wheelchair for daily movements.
“When questioned by law enforcers at the Chuda Police Headquarters and thoroughly inspected on her legs, she was found without a physical disability,” she said.
According to her, the girl living in Kongowea Area told law enforcers that she had been taken to the county by her uncle.
Further, she said the girl said her uncle used to take her to begging sites every morning and collected back home every evening.
“She said part of the money collected from begging was electronically transacted to the girl’s father in Tanzania,” she said, acknowledging that the truth of the claims couldn’t be established.
“However, both the girl and her guardian have been handed over to police, who are supposed to dig deeper to establish the relationship between the man identified as her uncle, because there could be a syndicate of people trafficking children to the country for personal gains,” she added.
The county official said there are other people with disabilities staying at a house rented in the Jomvu Area, where they go begging in the streets.
They send collected money to someone to recover the money he/she spends on the children’s living expenses and remain with a commission.
“They are taken to different streets early in the morning and are collected back after the sunset,” she said.
“Agents in this business have available opportunities in the country, therefore they rent houses for begging children who collect money from the streets,” she added.
She said a huge collection has persuaded the arrival of colleagues leading to the influx of beggars into the country, noting, however, that the matter has been left in the hands of police charged with ensuring the law takes its course.
Further, she said in a recent operation opposite the Posta GPA Street, 106 children were arrested in two phases; 89 in the first and 17 others in the second.
“During the operation an arrested child had healed burn scars on which his parents applied oil to hoodwink Good Samaritans that it was a fresh wound,” she said.
“The parents have been violating the child’s rights by making him spend a day in the Sun as well as denying him the right to education,” she added.
Following what was happening, she pleaded, “We would like to caution Tanzanians….you are our neighbours, friends and the people we interact business wise with. But, what you are doing, using children and people with disabilities to collect revenue isn’t acceptable as the trend is closely followed.”
According to her, there are real beggars in Mombasa, but the majority are coming from outside the area.
Further, she said there is a woman who has engaged in begging for many years and has managed to build houses she has rented.
She said the woman starts begging early in the morning, moving from Mama Ngina Street and thereafter going around using commuter buses.
“She isn’t poor. Only that she is used to begging, which is disappointing because she can work and generate income. However, she is used to quick money,” she said.
According to her, streets in Mombasa (Jomo Kenyatta, Moi Avenue, Posta, etc are always full on Thursdays, because people prepare for Fridays where residents are used to giving to people in need.
“My call is if the business community could stop the habit of giving out money every Friday, people should at least look for the things to do which are everywhere out there,” she said.
Mr Mohamed Mussa, the Mwembetayari Area Chief in Mombasa County said about 70 percent of beggars, believed to be Tanzanians doing their businesses in the area, are liars.
“They pretend to be the disable, but when they are arrested and questioned, it is proven that they haven’t physical disability,” he says in Kiswahili in a video clip. “This is human trafficking because people are smuggled for begging pretending to have physical disabilities while they are not,” he added.
He said investigation officers have been informed about the people bringing them here, noting that a manhunt has been launched to nab the said person who has been taking beggars to strategic places.
According to him, beggars are forced to pay a Ksh2,000 fee, approximated Tsh40,000, to enable them to live in the country, alleging that they are aware that these people have illegally entered the country.
“They are not possessing immigration documents, therefore, contravening with the East African Community (EAC) agreements,” he said.
However, he said the higher level of hospitality among Kenyans and Mombasa residents was the cause of all the ordeal the area was passing through.
“Not only Tanzanians, a Jordan national was recently arrested and repatriated. Newly elected county government leaders should enact tougher by-laws against fake people with disabilities who go begging in the streets,” he said.
According to him, true people with disabilities in the area have been identified and they have been given PWD cards that introduce them whenever there was a need for doing that.
