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Shanzu court hands British-Canadian man 30 years in jail for human trafficking

NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 27 – A Shanzu Court on Friday sentenced a businessman to 30 years imprisonment for his involvement in human trafficking and related crimes in Mombasa County.

The suspect who holds dual citizenship was apprehended following a raid at his business premises in 2019.

“Asif Amirali Alidhai Jetha, a holder of Britain and Canada passports was arrested on 13th April 2019 after a raid by Transnational Organized Crime Unit at his Rangeela bar, Mkomani Nyali where 12 Nepalese women who had been taken hostage at his premise were rescued,” the National Police Service (NPS) said Friday.

The police stated that the suspect had pleaded not guilty to six counts preferred against him before the matter went to hearing, with he prosecution lining up nineteen witnesses to testify against him.

Charges preferred included those of trafficking in persons, interfering with travel documents and engaging in business without a permit.

“The court found him guilty on all counts and handed him a 30-year jail term with sentences on other counts running concurrently,” the police stated.

The NPS expressed concern over the rising cases of human trafficking in the country and across the globe calling on the members of the public to report any such cases to police for action.

“Human trafficking is a global concern as it violates the rights of individuals who are kept against their will to advance roles they have not consented. It has at times resulted to harm or fatalities to the victims,” the NPS said.

“As National Police Service continues to be watchful against any form of violation and harm, we encourage the public to confide in us on cases that need police action,” the police service added.

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A 2021 Trafficking in Persons Report released by the U.S State Department, indicated that the Kenyan government reported initiating investigations on 18 trafficking cases in 2020, including at least four child sex trafficking cases, one child labor trafficking case, and an adult labor trafficking case.

The cases represented an increase from six trafficking investigations initiated in 2019.

The State Department further said that Kenya reported five unconcluded trafficking investigations from previous years but the government failed to provide an update on these cases.

“The government reported arresting 11 alleged traffickers in 2020, a decrease from at least 42 arrests in 2019. Arrests included a German national involved in child sex tourism and six Kenyan nationals for exploiting Ethiopian victims in forced labor; other arrests included charges of child sex trafficking and child labor trafficking, but the government did not provide further information on these cases,” the report said.

Kenya also reported prosecuting 46 individuals under the 2010 anti-trafficking law between July 2019 and June 2020.

Prosecutions of at least three defendants from prior years remained ongoing at the end of the reporting period.

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