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Policeman injured by immigrants during crackdown


A police officer is nursing injuries after he was attacked by illegal immigrants in Kasarani on Wednesday night.

Senior Sergeant Muriuki Kamakia, attached to the Crime Division, was injured by Congolese nationals he was escorting from the Kasarani police station to the Safaricom Kasarani gymnasium.

The gymnasium was turned into a holding centre where illegal immigrants nabbed in the ‘Operation Usalama Watch’ crackdown are detained.

Nairobi County Police Commandant Benson Kibui said the 80 Congolese nationals had been nabbed in different parts of the city including Kahawa, Kasarani, the City Centre and parts of Eastlands.

“The immigrants were resisting being taken to the Kasarani gymnasium where the other illegal immigrants are being held awaiting repatriation,” Mr Kibui said. “We had to even disperse them using teargas canisters at some point.”

During the fracas, the phone of the injured policeman, a Samsung Galaxy, was stolen but was later recovered during an intense screening at the Kasarani grounds.

The officer sustained injuries in his left leg and on his right hand.

A senior police officer told Nairobi News that some of the immigrants were found drunk in clubs in Kahawa West.

“They did not want to be repatriated and so we had to use force to load them into the vehicles before they turned against us and injured the police officer. We had to request for more reinforcement,” the officer said.

The ‘Operation Usalama Watch’, which began early last month, has seen hundreds of illegal immigrants being  repatriated to their countries.

Most of those arrested included South Sudanese, Somalis, Ethiopians and Congolese nationals.

The operation was launched as a strategy to reduce crime and fight terrorism in the country.