From Ethiopia to South Africa: The dark web of JKIA smugglers

In 2024, Kenya's police reported the arrest and rescue of 1,019 illegal immigrants. Among them, 968 were Ethiopians, 46 were Eritreans, and 5 were Burundians.

For instance, on January 2, 2024, authorities nabbed a human trafficker in Lucky Summer and rescued 73 Ethiopians. In addition, a Burundian was deported to his home country via the Busia border, while an Eritrean was sent back to Uganda on May 13 for his involvement in trafficking operations.

An Ethiopian wanted by his government for his involvement in human trafficking was deported to Ethiopia on April 4. Additionally, a Ugandan was convicted of trafficking at the Kahawa Law Courts and sentenced to 20 years in prison, with the option of paying a Sh20 million fine.

From the statistics, 38 individuals were arrested in connection with human trafficking in Nairobi, Marsabit, Kwale, Machakos, and Kajiado counties. An analysis by Sunday Standard revealed that the victims, primarily trafficked to Libya and some to South Africa, were often harboured in the country for days or even months before being moved on.

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According to the police, traffickers use word of mouth and social media platforms such as WhatsApp and TikTok to lure victims. They falsely promise jobs in Europe that will help the victims support their families back home. What these victims do not realise is that they are being drawn into a well-coordinated web of deceit and exploitation.

Once recruited, the victims are advised not to share their travel plans or dates with family members or close friends. The most effective tactic used by traffickers is to promise victims an all-expenses-paid trip to Europe, with the expectation that they will repay the costs once they secure employment.

Once preparations for their movement are complete, the traffickers take the victims' phones and switch them off. This strategy, according to police, is designed to mislead authorities and prevent families from raising alarms if their loved ones go missing.

One of the main routes used by traffickers begins at the Dadaab refugee camp, passing through Garissa town, Mwingi, Thika, Nairobi, and Busia before crossing into Uganda. From Kampala, the victims are moved to South Sudan and then Libya, where they are smuggled into Europe by boat. Another route goes from Dadaab to Mombasa, then Busia, and onto Kampala before proceeding through South Sudan and Libya to Europe. There is also a route that moves victims from Dadaab to Garissa, Isiolo, Samburu, Turkana, and across into South Sudan and Libya, eventually reaching Europe. Alternatively, victims may be moved from Dadaab to Garissa, then Wajir, crossing into Ethiopia, then Sudan, before finally reaching Libya, from where they are transported to Europe.

However, some victims never make it to Europe. Many die from extreme heat during the journey or from the harsh conditions in which they are kept to evade police detection. Others fall ill due to the sudden weather changes and diseases contracted from moving across various regions without proper care.

Once in Libya, the victims are often taken to concentration camps, where violence becomes the daily norm. In these camps, they are tortured, forced to work under appalling conditions, extorted, and in some cases, their organs are harvested. The stronger and healthier victims are recruited to join terrorist organisations, such as the Islamic State in Libya, as foreign fighters.

A police document analysed by Saturday Standard revealed that the people in charge of these camps are referred to as ‘Magafe’, a term meaning "one who does not miss". It is believed that the Magafe can track victims anywhere they go in Libya.

After abductions, these traffickers allegedly torture victims and then demand ransom from their families back in Kenya. The victims are made to record distress videos, which are then sent to their families, demanding between Sh2 million and Sh3 million to stop the torture. The ransoms are usually sent through Hawala and Remitly, money transfer services designed to avoid detection by law enforcement.

The Magafe have local agents in Kenya who work for them for Sh60,000. “The Trans-Saharan syndicate has claimed many young lives and caused numerous families to fall into financial decline and debt due to the payment of ransoms,” reads the report seen exclusively by Sunday Standard.