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PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHNR #1136/01 0681057
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 091057Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY NAIROBI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8140
INFO RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHDC

UNCLAS NAIROBI 001136 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, PRM, IWI, AF/RSA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM KCRM KWMN ELAB SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF KE
SUBJECT: KENYA SUBMISSION FOR THE SEVENTH ANNUAL 
TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT 
 
REF: 06 STATE 202745 
 
¶1.  (U) The following is Embassy Nairobi's submission for the 
Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP). 
Information is keyed to the format provided in reftel. 
 
¶2. (SBU) STATUS AND EXTENT OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN KENYA 
 
¶I. Overview 
 
¶A. Origin, Transit, and Destination 
Origin 
Kenya continues to be a country of origin for victims of 
human trafficking destined for the Middle East, other nations 
in Africa, and Europe and North America. Kenyan victims 
overseas often find themselves forced into domestic 
servitude, prostitution, service in massage parlors (where it 
is also believed they are forced into prostitution), casino 
work, and enslavement in brothels. Kenyans are generally 
trafficked to the Middle East as cheap laborers and household 
domestics, and as domestic and commercial sex workers to 
Europe. 
 
Transit 
The extent to which Kenya is utilized as a transit point for 
human traffickers continues to remain unclear.  Kenya serves 
as a transit corridor for travel among Asia, the Middle East, 
Europe, and other African nations, which makes it an 
attractive location for human smugglers.  Kenyan authorities 
believe Asians (mainly Chinese, Indian and Pakistani women) 
are being smuggled to European destinations via Nairobi, 
primarily to enter the commercial sex trade. South Asians are 
also believed to transit Kenya through established smuggling 
operations. 
 
Destination 
Evidence collected by local and international NGOs through 
first-person accounts and press reporting indicates that 
Kenya remains a destination for human trafficking victims. 
Although the issue of sex tourism trends along the Kenyan 
coast and in urban centers has been significantly highlighted 
by the media, a major UNICEF research report, and increased 
Government of Kenya (GOK) awareness, brothels and massage 
parlors continue to recruit TIP victims.  Additionally, 
trafficking within Kenya, especially of child domestic 
workers, remains significant, but cultural practices and lack 
of awareness have slowed the Kenyan response. 
 
More Research is Needed 
Although there have been several studies on TIP in Kenya and 
the East African region, only the UNICEF report on child sex 
tourism was able to calculate the number of victims. (See 
below.)  All other research developed only anecdotal 
information about trafficking.  No study has estimated even 
the order of magnitude trafficking has reached in Kenya. 
 
The problem of human trafficking in Kenya has began to 
attract attention from the media, the public, and the Kenyan 
Government, especially after the release of the joint 
UNICEF/Ministry of Home Affairs research report launched on 
December 19, 2006. "The Extent and Effect of Sex Tourism and 
Sexual Exploitation of Children on the Kenyan Coast" found 
that ten to fifteen thousand girls living in four main 
coastal resort areas are involved in casual sex work - up to 
30 percent of all 12-18 year olds living in these areas.  A 
further two to three thousand girls and boys, up to 45 
percent of whom have migrated from other parts of the 
country, are involved in full-time year round commercial sex 
activity.  39 percent of the clients were Kenyan, followed by 
Italian (18 percent), German (14 percent) and Swiss (12 
percent). 
 
A 2006 study by the African Network for the Prevention and 
Protection of Child Abuse and Neglect (ANPPCAN) found that 
districts in Western Kenya were the main sources of 
trafficked children.  Most traffickers were relatives, 
sometimes working as employment bureaus or prostitutes, who 
lured the children from rural homes with promises of a better 
life and education in towns.  Most of the trafficked children 
found their way to Nairobi or coastal towns, where they were 
forced to work as household domestics or as commercial sex 
workers. 
 
A late 2006 survey by NGO Behavior Change Plus Care on 
Humanity found that 60 percent of households in a the coastal 
town/district of Mwembe Tayari employed a domestic, 63 
percent of whom were below 18 years of age.  85 percent of 
 
the domestics surveyed said they were driven into domestic 
labor by poverty or were induced by a third party. 
 
An Embassy-funded survey conducted in 2006 by the Kenyan 
Institute of Policy Analysis and Research (IPAR) interviewed 
25 TIP victims randomly selected from Mombasa, Nairobi and 
Naivasha.  IPAR researchers found that poverty, lack of 
employment opportunities, and "better life syndrome", 
especially in the coastal tourist resort areas, were the main 
push factors for TIP, facilitated by corruption.  Eight of 
the 11 trafficking victims who met their traffickers at 
coastal resorts went back to sex work within six months of 
being rescued and deported from European countries for lack 
of alternative means of livelihood.  The survey also revealed 
that eight of the 12 victims of international trafficking 
obtained their travel documents and passports after bribing 
government officials, either directly or through brokers. 
 
Trafficking for commercial sex workers is being facilitated 
by changes in Kenyan sexual trends.  Girls are having their 
first sexual experiences at an earlier age, and incidents of 
child abuse have significantly increased since 2000.  A 
survey by Infotrak Research and Consulting in early 2007 of 
2,400 young women found that 12 percent claim to have had 
their first sexual encounter by age 14, and 53 percent by age 
¶17.  10 percent of the women polled said they had been 
sexually violated.  Based on a study completed in early 2007, 
Kenyan NGO "The Cradle" reported that 40 percent of sexual 
abusers are neighbors, and that teachers, police officers, 
and pastors also ranked highly.  Cradle reported that 92 
percent of child victims knew their abusers. 
 
A comprehensive survey on the human trafficking phenomenon in 
Kenya and throughout East Africa undertaken by the 
International Organization for Migration (IOM) will be 
available later this year. A number of Kenyan NGOs are also 
undertaking surveys into the human trafficking situation in 
Kenya and the region. 
 
¶B. General Overview Inside Kenya 
Despite general acknowledgement that internal trafficking is 
prevalent, there are still no statistics from the government 
or NGOs to quantify the size of the problem.  Victims are 
recruited by promises of employment or access to education 
and generally trafficked from rural to urban areas, and are 
put to work as domestic laborers or in the commercial sex 
trade. Victims are lured from their villages by relatives, 
friends of friends, or employment agencies.  Traffickers 
target commercial sex workers, would-be foreign workers, 
street children, HIV/AIDS and other orphans, rural-to-urban 
migrants, and refugees.  Women and children are particularly 
vulnerable.  Poverty, unemployment, HIV/AIDS, and the low 
status of women are among the root causes that render victims 
vulnerable to traffickers. 
 
Authorities and NGOs generally accept that Kenyan women play 
an active role in recruiting victims for internal 
trafficking, while foreigners and Kenyan men are involved in 
external trafficking.  Black market foreign employment 
agencies, brothel owners, or massage parlor operators also 
traffic victims directly or benefit from established 
trafficking rings.  Kenyan victims trafficked to foreign 
countries are lured through false marriage offers, fraudulent 
adoption, false travel documents, and deceptive employment 
schemes. 
 
Examples of the government's growing political will to curb 
human trafficking and to better educate itself and the Kenyan 
people on the phenomenon are included throughout this report. 
 
¶C. Limitations on GoK's Ability to Address TIP 
As demonstrated throughout this report, there is a 
significant level of political will to address the problem of 
human trafficking.  The GOK is making some progress in 
combating TIP.  Post held meetings with senior government 
officials, especially the Criminal Investigations Department, 
the Kenya Police Service, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the 
Immigration Permanent Secretary, the Coast Province 
Provincial Commissioner, and the Ministry of Labour and Human 
Resource, all of whom have acknowledged the gravity of the 
problem.  A GOK National TIP Task Force comprised of the 
above agencies has already met and is working with the 
International Organization on Migration (IOM) to develop a 
National Strategy and Action Plan.  The Ministry of Home 
Affairs has taken the lead in organizing and coordinating 
activities at the District level, through the District Child 
Labor Committees.  Having attended one such Committee meeting 
 
 
in Mombasa, POL FSN is optimistic that if the vigor and 
participation of civil servants continue, there will be 
significant action taken to combat human trafficking. 
 
The lack of employment opportunities continues to pressure 
Kenyans to seek employment in vulnerable contexts. 
Unemployment is estimated at 50 percent and more than 56 
percent of the population survive on less than a dollar per 
day.  The unique challenges posed by the HIV/AIDS epidemic 
and the attendant dramatic social consequences further 
undermine the government's ability to address trafficking. 
(NOTE:  An estimated 6.1 percent of adult Kenyans are 
infected with HIV. The trend is expected to continue 
downward. END NOTE.) 
 
The dearth of data on East African human trafficking trends 
continues to place constraints on the Kenyan government's 
ability to accurately assess the extent to which its 
citizenry is vulnerable to victimization by human 
traffickers.  Further, resource constraints inhibit the 
government's ability to adequately track trends or identify 
potential TIP networks or smuggling rings.  Other worthy 
issues, such as combating HIV/AIDS, compete with trafficking 
as the Executive considers budget priorities.  Budget 
constraints and insufficient capacity generally dictate that 
the government detain and deport, rather than arrest and 
investigate.  These same constraints often prevent Kenya from 
collaborating with "deportee nations" on follow-up 
investigations without significant donor community or 
"deportee nation" assistance.  The competing demands on the 
police service to respond to increasing threats to security, 
including violent crime, with the limited resources available 
continues to undermine law enforcement's ability to 
adequately address human trafficking.  Additionally, a lack 
of TIP-related training among law enforcement and immigration 
officials further affects the government's ability to 
investigate cases of human trafficking. Corruption among law 
enforcement authorities and other officials also hampers the 
government's ability to effectively address human 
trafficking. 
 
¶D. Inability to Monitor Anti-Trafficking Efforts 
The government is unable to systematically monitor its 
anti-trafficking efforts due to lack of resources and 
capacity among the relevant agencies.  However, the recent 
inter-ministerial meetings on TIP (see II.B) and the newly 
created Community Policing, Gender, and Children's Unit of 
the Kenya police (see III.H), should improve the government's 
ability to monitor and track anti-TIP efforts. 
 
II. PREVENTION 
 
¶A. GoK Acknowledges TIP as Problem in Kenya 
The GoK widely acknowledges that human trafficking is an 
issue affecting Kenya.  Numerous national and local-level 
government officials have frequently spoken publicly about 
the dangers of human trafficking and sex tourism. Vice 
President Awori, whose portfolio includes the Ministry of 
Home Affairs, has participated in many public events calling 
for greater public awareness of child welfare issues, 
including trafficking. 
 
¶B. Various Levels of GoK Involved in Anti-Trafficking Efforts 
Numerous ministries have been involved in anti-trafficking 
efforts.  The Government of Kenya is working with IOM to 
institutionalize efforts to combat trafficking in persons. 
On December 5, 2006, an inter-Ministerial meeting including 
the Office of the President, Home Affairs (MHA), Tourism and 
Wildlife, Foreign Affairs, Justice and Constitutional 
Affairs, Gender, and Education, plus the Police, and Attorney 
General agreed that MHA should lead the anti-TIP Steering 
Committee and the Task Force to draft a National Plan of 
Action. 
 
The Attorney General's Office is doing the legal drafting on 
the Trafficking in Persons Bill submitted by NGOs in 2006. 
Although a recent TIP NGO Network meeting (attended by the 
Attorney General's representative who is responsible for the 
draft to parliament) was recently assured that the Bill would 
be ready by the end of the current year, this will be an 
uphill task, given the other equally crucial bills that are 
in queue for discussion by Parliament, and the upcoming 
December 2007 General Election. 
 
The Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife and the Ministry of Home 
Affairs are actively involved in the implementation of the 
ECPAT Tourism Industry Code of Conduct Against Child Sex 
 
Tourism. The ECPAT Code of Conduct against child sex tourism 
has been signed by about 30 hotels in the coastal tourist 
resort areas.  In a recent meeting in Mombasa, the Kenya 
Association of Hotel and Caterers (KAHC) and local Government 
officials told Ambassador Ranneberger this represented the 
majority of Coast hotels, and that they wanted to expand the 
exercise to cover the entire country.  NGOs and the Tourism 
Ministry are working together to present the Code to Nairobi 
establishments as well as other hotels in Kenya towns.  The 
Tourism Ministry is trying to force owners of private beach 
cottages and villas that rent to tourists, especially in 
Malindi, to register as hotels, pay their license fees, and 
be subject to inspection, but owners are challenging this 
initiative in court.  Tourists staying at these private 
establishments a 
re widely suspected of engaging in child sex tourism with 
impunity. (See also III.M) 
 
The Ministry of Labor helped to implement the USG-funded 
ILO-IPEC time bound program targeting four fields of child 
labor, all of which are TIP-susceptible. (See II.H)  The 
Kenyan Police Service (KPS) is involved through its Criminal 
Intelligence Unit (CID) and the newly created Community 
Policing, Gender, and Children's Unit.  The Ministry of 
Labor, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of 
Home Affairs are engaged in the registration of both domestic 
and foreign employment agencies and the provision of 
foreign-worker counseling. All of those agencies, plus the 
Ministry of Education, Science, & Technology and the Ministry 
of Provincial Administration & Internal Security, are members 
of the inter-agency task force working with the IOM to 
develop and implement the GoK's National anti-TIP Strategy 
and Action Plan. 
 
¶C. Public Awareness Campaigns 
The GoK and local NGOs have widely disseminated 
anti-trafficking brochures, which include contact information 
for the 24-hour police hotline, the Police Children's Desks 
(present within nationwide police divisions), and several 
NGOs which facilitated victims' assistance.  The Ministry of 
Labor also conducts workers' rights counseling for Kenyan 
nationals working abroad. 
 
On the demand reduction side, the GoK supports wide-scale 
adoption of the ECPAT Code of Conduct against child sex 
tourism by the tourism industry to highlight the scourge of 
sex tourism in Kenya. In accepting the UNICEF study on CST, 
Vice President and Minister of Home Affairs Moody Awori 
squarely accepted the research as a real and factual 
description of a growing problem that must be publicly 
confronted.  While tourism poses risks to children, the high 
proportion of Kenyan clients and widespread acceptance of CST 
showed the lack of support and protection for children in 
Kenyan society.  Awori acknowledged the failure of police and 
communities to enforce Kenya's laws, and to sometimes treat 
exploited children as criminals rather than victims.  In a 
clear call to end impunity for tourists, the VP urged police 
and communities to implement the Children's Act and other 
laws consistently, and not to protect child exploiters. 
 
The government-owned Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, along 
side with the Kenya print and electronic media, have made 
significant inroads in highlighting TIP issues, contributing 
to increased public and government awareness of the problem. 
(See II.A.) 
 
¶D. The GoK Supports other Programs to Prevent Trafficking 
On January 5, 2007, Vice President and Minister of Home 
Affairs Moody Awori released new Child Welfare guidelines 
that create Area Advisory Councils in the country.  The 
councils are to ensure that charitable children institutions 
are managed in line with stipulated regulations, affording 
children additional protections against human trafficking. 
The government's provision of free primary education 
nationwide and the Ministry of Education's "mobile schools 
program" all indirectly contribute to prevent vulnerable 
populations from falling victim to human traffickers. Women's 
empowerment programs funded though the parliamentary 
Constituency Development Fund serve to indirectly bolster the 
government's counter-trafficking efforts. 
 
Further, due to concerns about the risk human trafficking 
poses to Kenyan nationals destined for work in the Middle 
East, the Office of Human Resources, Management, and 
Employment (OHRME), under the Minister of Labor, extended the 
mandate of its satellite office which seeks to track and 
assist Kenyan nationals employed in Saudi Arabia.  Back home, 
 
OHRME implements a notable program of education, awareness, 
and inspection for all Foreign Employment Agencies.  This 
program is being expanded to include domestic employment 
agencies.  The Children's Department in the Ministry of Home 
Affairs is supported by UNICEF to implement a cash subsidy 
project in select locations throughout Kenya targeting 
vulnerable children by improving the capacity of extended 
families to absorb and care for orphans, many of whom have 
lost parents to HIV/AIDS.  The government and ILO-IPEC are 
also working to improve a database on abused children, 
particularly those who are working. (See II.H) 
 
¶E. GoK Cooperates with Civil Society to Address Trafficking 
The GoK increasingly cooperates, and often partners, with 
civil society to combat human trafficking.  Of particular 
note is the collaboration between the Attorney General's 
office and civil society in the preparation of new 
anti-trafficking legislation. Also noteworthy is the 
developing partnership between the government and IOM.  The 
IOM project aims to assist the GoK and concerned stakeholders 
in their efforts to counter trafficking in human beings in 
Kenya through prevention, protection, and prosecution 
activities.  Prevention activities will include a national 
public information campaign, an awareness raising campaign 
for youth, community level awareness raising and training for 
decision makers and community leaders, and training workshops 
for journalists.  Protection and assistance to victims will 
be accomplished through the provision of comprehensive direct 
assistance to victims, the establishment of a national 
referral system, and capacity building for police, referral 
system members, and service providers.  The ability of the 
GoK to identify and prosecute traffickers will be increased 
through targeted trainings for law enforcement and GoK 
agencies, and specialized training for prosecutors, members 
of the judiciary, and law enforcement agencies on utilizing 
existing legislation for countering human trafficking. (See 
II.B) 
 
¶F. GoK Monitors Immigration and Emigration Patterns 
Immigration officials participated in the American Bar 
Association-sponsored training on human trafficking.  The GoK 
utilizes TIP/PISCES software (provided by the USG) to 
scrutinize travelers who have been placed on a 
government-wide "stop list".  IOM worked with the Ministry of 
Immigration to implement a USG-funded Capacity Building in 
Migration Management Project to improve the Ministry's 
capacity and professionalism. Additional IOM efforts focused 
on improving awareness of border security issues among 
relevant authorities.  These programs also bolstered 
immigration officials' capacity to address human trafficking 
issues. 
 
¶G. GoK Mechanisms for Coordination with International and 
Multi-National Bodies 
The Ministry of Home Affairs is taking the lead role among 
GoK agencies on TIP-related issues, including in the 
IOM-supported project to develop a national strategy and 
action plan to address TIP. (See II.B) 
 
¶H. GoK is Developing a National Plan of Action 
The government does not yet have a formal national action 
plan on TIP, but is actively working with IOM to develop one. 
 This lack results from diverse priorities competing for 
government attention and limited resources. (See II.B) 
 
Additionally, the GoK, with assistance from ILO/IPEC, 
formulated a national strategy to combat child labor, (which 
also renders children vulnerable to human trafficking.)  The 
program aims to overhaul existing labor-related policies and 
legislation by domesticating numerous international 
conventions, harmonizing existing domestic legislation, and 
enacting safeguards in sectors susceptible to child labor 
(and trafficking). 
 
III. Investigation and Prosecution of Traffickers 
 
¶A. Kenyan Anti-Trafficking Laws 
While a comprehensive law which specifically addresses 
trafficking in persons is still in the drafting stages, the 
Sexual Offences Act, which came into effect on July 21, 2006 
criminalizes any form of child trafficking and, for adults, 
trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation.  In 
other cases of TIP, traffickers can theoretically be 
prosecuted under existing legal provisions. 
 
One such case is currently being handled by the Kenya Police 
through the Criminal Investigations Department. The Kenya 
 
Police is prosecuting two suspects who trafficked two 
Ethiopian minors to Kenya. Note: A Deputy Commissioner of the 
Kenya Police Service and Director of the Community Policing, 
Gender and Child Protection Unit, (which is now the mandated 
Unit handling human trafficking issues) took a very active 
interest in this case. The Commissioner of Police gave firm 
instructions for swift action on the case albeit with some 
prodding from Post's TIP officer. End Note. The victims' 
ordeal was discovered by Global Child Hope, an NGO that had 
been given a TIP grant by Post.  The two alleged traffickers 
arraigned and charged in court on February 22, 2007 under the 
Children's Act.  Because of lack of a specific TIP law, they 
were charged under section 13 and 14 of the Children's Act, 
which protect a child from falling subject to trafficking and 
forcible early marriage. Penalties for both include maximum 
sentences of twelve months imprisonment and/or a fine of 
50,000 KSh (USD equivalent 750). 
 
Additionally, the Constitution of Kenya prohibits the 
practice of slavery. Further, the Penal Code prohibits the 
forced detention of women for the purposes of prostitution, 
and some trafficking offenses could be prosecuted under laws 
addressing child labor, abduction, attempted abduction, and 
the commercial and sexual exploitation of children.  However, 
the GoK's limited investigative and prosecutorial capacity 
impedes use of these legal provisions to prosecute suspected 
traffickers to the fullest extent.  While Post believes the 
GoK is now more willing to prosecute and act on cases of 
human trafficking, a specific legal framework is needed to 
provide the necessary tools for the justice system to 
successfully investigate, prosecute, and track all cases of 
human trafficking. 
 
¶B. Penalties for Trafficking 
The Sexual Offences Act imposes a minimum 15 years 
imprisonment and/or a fine of 2 million Ksh (USD equivalent 
28,571) for trafficking for the proposes of sexual 
exploitation.  The Act also imposes a minimum prison sentence 
of ten yeas and/or a fine of 2 million Ksh (USD equivalent 
28,571) for child trafficking.  Additionally, the Children's 
Act and the Penal code provide penalties for TIP related 
offences.  (See III.A) 
 
¶C. Punishment of Labor Trafficking Offenses 
It is anticipated that the draft comprehensive TIP 
legislation would provide for the criminalization of labor 
trafficking and impose penalties. 
 
¶D. Penalties for Rape 
The Sexual Offences Act contains provisions about sexual 
offences, their definition, prevention, and the protection of 
all persons from harm from unlawful sexual acts and connected 
offences.  It enhances protection of potential victims.  The 
Act provides for a minimum 10-year sentence for rape and 
sexual assault.  The Act also significantly increased the 
maximum penalties for defilement: if the victim is 11 years 
old or younger, the perpetrator is subject to life 
imprisonment; if the victim is between the ages of 12 and 15, 
there is a minimum sentence of 20 years; and if the victim is 
between the ages of 16 and 18, a minimum sentence of 15 years 
is imposed. 
 
Historically, the prosecution of rape cases remains low due 
to cultural inhibitions, fear of retribution, and 
disinclination of police to intervene in domestic disputes. 
It is too son to tell if the new law will encourage more 
women to come forward to report abuses. 
 
¶E. Prostitution is Criminalized 
Under Kenyan law, prostitution in and of itself is considered 
a misdemeanor.  The Penal Code defines the "living on the 
earnings of prostitution, for both men and woman, as a 
misdemeanor.  However, fines are limited and jail time is 
rarely imposed.  The activities of brothel owners or 
operators are also criminalized as a misdemeanor; however, 
the activities of clients are not criminalized under Kenyan 
law.  The draft TIP legislation seeks to correct this. 
 
¶F. GoK's Limited Ability to Investigate and Prosecute 
Trafficking 
The current legal and law enforcement structure makes 
compiling broad-spectrum statistics virtually impossible. 
Senior Police officials admit that many cases of trafficking 
go unprosecuted because police and police prosecutors need 
awareness and sensitization training to assist them in 
identifying cases of trafficking as such.  Some NGOs allege 
that traffickers have bribed police to ignore or even protect 
 
their operations. 
 
Immigration authorities are generally more involved in 
suspected trafficking cases.  Immigration officials reported 
several cases of suspected trafficking during the course of 
the year covered in this report.  Immigration officers 
arrested and charged 484 foreigners from 37 countries for 
being in the country illegally over the last two years.  Some 
of these undocumented workers were likely trafficking 
victims, but the absence of a comprehensive TIP law makes it 
difficult to distinguish between human smuggling and 
trafficking. 
 
¶G. Those Behind the Trafficking 
Research, anecdotal evidence, and first-person accounts 
indicate that freelancers, members of organized crime 
syndicates, employment agencies, and marriage brokers are 
involved in trafficking.  A 2006 study by the African Network 
for the Prevention and Protection of Child Abuse and Neglect 
(ANPPCAN) found that most traffickers of children were 
relatives, sometimes working as employment bureaus or 
prostitutes, who lured the children from rural homes with 
promises of better life and education in towns.  Most 
domestic traffickers were female, and most international 
traffickers were male.  The Institute of Policy Analysis and 
Research (IPAR) study found that most adult TIP victims are 
lured with offers of marriage, education, or job 
opportunities by the traffickers.  All 25 victims interviewed 
were trafficked or introduced to traffickers by either 
friends or relatives.  Ministry of Tourism officials believe 
that some tour operators may cater to sex tourists. (See II.B) 
 
Foreign employment agencies have facilitated the trafficking 
of Kenyan nationals to Middle Eastern nations, notably Saudi 
Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Lebanon, as well as 
Germany, and collect profits from such trafficking.  In May 
2006, a group of Kenyan women were repatriated from Saudi 
Arabia, where they claimed the jobs they received were not as 
promised and/or they were mistreated and confined by their 
employers.  There are no reports of government collusion in 
human trafficking.  Kenyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
officials subsequently indicated they would advise Kenyan 
Embassies in the Middle East to take more interest in 
complaints from Kenyan guest workers. 
 
¶H. Active Investigation of Trafficking 
As of October 2006, the Human Trafficking Unit (HTU) of the 
Kenyan Police Service did not report any investigations into 
trafficking cases.  However, in November 2006, Kenya shifted 
the HTU into a new Community Policing, Gender and Children's 
Protection Unit led by a Deputy Commissioner of Police.  This 
new unit has been very engaged on the issue of human 
trafficking and in early 2007, filed its first charges 
against suspected traffickers.  The alleged traffickers were 
arrested for child trafficking on February 11, 2007 and 
charged with forced marriage and forced labor.  This may well 
be the first known trafficking in persons case that the 
Police have enthusiastically followed. IOM took charge of 
care and support for the two young victims, and the children 
were subsequently transported back to their family in 
Ethiopia. (See III.A) 
 
In August 2006, two police officers based at the Endebess 
Police Station in Western Kenyan Tranz-Nzoia District were 
suspended from duty for allegedly helping a suspected member 
of a child trafficking syndicate escape from custody.  The 
accused trafficker was arrested for attempting to traffic an 
allegedly abducted child from Kenyan to Uganda.  However, the 
officers were subsequently reinstated to active duty pending 
disciplinary action from police headquarters and are believed 
to have been reassigned. 
 
In November 2006, Kenya police arrested a Sri Lankan national 
for overstaying in the country.  The press later reported he 
was the businessman behind the transportation into Kenya of 
six Sri Lankan youth who were discovered by the press living 
in Nairobi.  The young men reportedly said they were lured by 
the man with promises of jobs in Cyprus, but were dumped in 
Nairobi while en route.  The Kenya Police have not yet filed 
formal charges against the businessman. 
 
The use of electronic surveillance, under-cover operations, 
and the use of informants are not prohibited under Kenyan 
law.  Covert operations are permissible.  In some instances, 
Kenyan law allows suspects to benefit from mitigated 
punishment or immunity in exchange for continued 
cooperation during ongoing investigations. 
 
 
 
¶I. Specialized Trainings Provided 
A human trafficking manual was developed by the regional East 
African chapter of the American Bar Association which will be 
used to institutionalize trafficking-related issues into 
training continuums for police, immigration, and registration 
officers. Government officials, prosecutors, and police also 
attended training workshops on human trafficking conducted by 
the American Bar Association. 
 
The Ministry of Labor conducted workshops to sensitize 
domestic and foreign employment agencies on human trafficking 
issues. Chief Justice Evan Gicheru acknowledged the need for 
more training on human trafficking for legal and law 
enforcement authorities. 
 
¶J. Cooperative Investigations 
The GoK has expressed interest and willingness to cooperate 
with other nations in trafficking investigations. 
 
¶K. GoK Extradition/Deportation of Traffickers 
The GoK did not extradite nor deport persons charged with 
trafficking during the year covered by this report, though no 
provisions in Kenyan law prohibit such action.  Nor is there 
any legal obstacle to the extradition of Kenyan nationals 
under Kenyan law. 
 
¶L. GoK Does Not Tolerate Trafficking 
There is not evidence to suggest that the GoK is in any way 
involved in or tolerates human trafficking. 
 
¶M. Government Involvement 
See III.L and III.H 
 
¶N. Child Sex Tourism 
There were no pedophiles prosecuted or deported this year. 
Kenya's child sexual abuse laws do not have extraterritorial 
coverage.  UNICEF and the NGO End Child Prostitution, Child 
Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes 
(ECPAT) have been working with the GoK and civil society to 
promote the adoption and implementation of the Code of 
Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual 
Exploitation for the tourism industry.  The Ministry of 
Tourism and Wildlife's Hotel and Restaurant Authority (HRA), 
is supposed to inspect and annually license all hotels, 
lodges and restaurants, which are sites where child sex 
tourism is rampant at Coastal resorts.  By August 2006, about 
1,200 lodges, guest houses and villas that rent to tourists 
were registered.  In February 2006, 30 hotels on the Coast, 
which is the destination of many of the tourists visiting 
Kenya, signed the ECPAT Code of Conduct.  The Ministry of 
Tourism and Wildlife and the Kenya Association of Hoteliers 
and Caterers intend to see all hotel operators and other 
tourism and hospitality firms sign and implement the Code, 
but there were no further signups in 2006.  The Ministry of 
Tourism and Wildlife plans to make implementation of the Code 
a condition for annual licensing of hotels, lodges and 
restaurants by the Hotel and Restaurant Authority. 
 
Vice President and Minister of Home Affairs Awori publicly 
accepted the UNICEF report on child sex tourism in December 
2006, urged wider hospitality industry participation in the 
ECPAT Code, and pledged the government would work with UNICEF 
to develop long-term strategies for child protection and 
social/behavioral changes.  The 2006-2007 budget authorized 
the Ministry of Home Affairs Child Protection Department to 
hire an additional 160 children's officers, most of whom will 
be posted to the field. 
 
¶O. International Treaties 
Kenya ratified the ILO Convention 182 on May 7, 2001.  On 
September 8, 2000, Kenya signed the Optional Protocol to the 
Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of 
children, child prostitution, and child pornography.  Kenya 
acceded to the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish 
Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, 
supplementing the UN Convention Against Transnational 
Organized Crime on January 5, 2005.  On December 11, 2006, 
the Cabinet ratified the Hague Convention on international 
adoptions.  The Cabinet also approved rules that protect 
children from being trafficked through adoption practices in 
the same period.  Assistant Minister for Home Affairs Maalim 
Mohammed also announced that GOK had formed an Adoption 
Committee, which would vet and license all adoption 
societies. 
 
IV. GOK Protection and Assistance to Victims 
 
 
¶A. Victim Assistance Programs 
The GoK's ability to develop assistance programs and provide 
services for victims of trafficking is severely limited due 
to insufficient capacity among government service providers, 
a dearth of resources, and insufficient training. 
 
At a national level, the GoK does not specifically provide 
victims of human trafficking shelter, access to medical or 
social services, or afford temporary or permanent residence 
status.  However, the government established shelters in 
Nairobi, Mombasa, and Kisumu to rehabilitate street children 
who have been vulnerable to forced labor and sexual abuse, 
but these centers are not exclusively for trafficked victims. 
The Government will work with IOM to establish a trafficking 
victims' shelter. 
 
The government has also established District Advisory 
Children's Centers throughout the nation that are supposed to 
administer psycho-social services, medial and educational 
assistance, and foster programs for at-risk, orphaned, or 
abandoned children.  Child victims are placed under the care 
of local level children officers and placed in child homes or 
rehabilitation schools, where they receive basic counseling 
services. 
 
The government provides consular services to Kenyan nationals 
who have been victims of human trafficking seeking 
repatriation.  Several civil 
society organizations provide repatriation assistance to 
trafficking victims in close collaboration with 
national-level governmental authorities.  NGOs also provide 
trafficking victims with legal assistance, shelter, and 
medical and psychological services.  In many instances, these 
NGOs work in consultation with local government authorities. 
 
The GoK is quick to recognize the need for greater victim 
assistance programs; however, resource constraints inhibit 
greater development in this field. 
 
¶B. GoK Assistance to NGOs 
The GoK pays dues to IOM and ILO-IPEC. 
 
¶C. GoK Screening and Referrals 
While no formal screening or referral processes exist, NGOs 
providing victim assistance report good relations with local 
authorities who refer victims to their care.  Local-level 
working relationships between government and civil society 
are generally quite strong.  The Kenyan Government needs to 
assist its nationals overseas. 
 
¶D. Respect for Victim's Rights 
Trafficking victims are reportedly not often treated as 
criminals.  However, foreign victims discovered in Kenya are 
frequently detained for short periods of time and deported. 
They may also face immigration charges, such as unlawful 
presence or failure to produce a passport, each carrying a 
fine equivalent to USD 270 and/or a one-year jail sentence. 
The GoK facilitates consular assistance for foreign victims. 
Trafficking victims involved in prostitution can face both 
fines and prosecution, though in practice, they are 
frequently only fined.  The fine for engaging in prostitution 
is KSH 1,300, approximately USD 17.50. 
 
¶E. Victim Involvement in Prosecutions 
Victims are able to assist the government in related 
investigations and prosecutions.  Trafficked persons are able 
to file civil suits against pimps, but such action is rare in 
practice.  Foreign victims are usually deported before 
conclusion of investigations due to a lack of resources, 
limited capacity, and an absence of trafficking related 
offenses for which victims could assist in the investigation 
and prosecution.  General dysfunction and delays within the 
judiciary present a significant hurdle to accessing legal 
redress for victims.  The draft anti-trafficking legislation 
would allow for victim restitution, which is not provided for 
under existing laws. 
 
¶F. Witness Protection 
With the passing of the Witness protection Bill in December 
2006, formal witness protection programs are expected to be 
put in place by the government as soon as the Bill becomes 
Law, i.e., receives Presidential Assent.  Protection will be 
arranged by the Attorney General on behalf of the Kenya 
Police and other law enforcement agencies.  Some of the 
measures proposed include establishing a new identity for the 
witness and relocating the person and his family.  If passed 
 
into law, the High Court would have authority to order the 
appropriate officer to make new entries in the register of 
births, deaths or marriages. 
 
¶G. GoK Training 
(See III.D and III.I) 
 
¶H. GoK Assistance to Repatriated Kenyans 
The GoK does not provide direct financial assistance to 
repatriated victims.  Shelter is not currently provided 
specifically for trafficking victims, however the government 
plans to do so in the future. (See IV.A) The GoK collaborates 
with civil society, as funds and resources allow, and based 
on the extent to which civil society or victims inform the 
government of a need for assistance or collaboration. 
 
¶I. IOs and NGOs Assist Victims 
There are a variety of NGOs active, to varying degrees, in 
human trafficking and trafficking-related issues.  Most of 
these NGOs are engaged in the area of sensitization and 
concentrate their efforts on public awareness campaigns, 
gender equity issues, the economic advancement of women, and 
women's and children's advocacy and outreach.  In November 
2006, at the initiative of the U.S. Embassy, UNICEF and 
International Organization for Migration (IOM) agreed to 
establish and co-chair a donor working group (WG) to 
coordinate our efforts to address TIP and child protection 
issues in Kenya. The WG meets on a monthly basis and is 
expanding to include source and destination countries for 
trafficking. 
 
Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA-Kenya), Solidarity with 
Women in Distress (SOLWADI), CRADLE, and Solidarity with 
Daughters in Distress (SOLDIDI) work directly with 
trafficking victims and are active in the repatriation (both 
internationally and within Kenya) of trafficking victims and 
providing social and legal assistance.  In addition, CRADLE 
and FIDA-Kenya are actively engaged in promoting legal reform 
that would introduce a comprehensive trafficking-specific 
statute NGOs report positive working relations with the 
government. (See III.E) 
 
¶3. (U) A. PolFSN Michael Kamau (rank FSN 10/11) spent 
approximately 127 hours in the preparation of this report. 
He can be reached at (254) 20-363-6276 (office) or (254) 
722-515-293, fax: (254) 20-363-6281.  The following 
individuals also contributed to preparation of this report: 
Pol Off Melissa Sweeney (rank: 03) spent 12 hours; Econoff 
(rank:01) spent 8 hours; PolCons (rank:02) spent .5 hours; 
USAID/Kenya Director and Democracy and Governance Officer 
spent .5 hours respectively. 
RANNEBERGER