The Ministry of Interior and Citizen Services, through the Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho, has announced on Wednesday September 29, 2021 that it will set in motion a process to flush out foreigners in the country illegally.

In a statement sent to newsrooms, the ministry stated that the order will be executed by the Department of Immigration and the National Police Service.

“The Government has ordered an immediate crackdown of foreigners who are in the country illegally. The exercise will be undertaken by the Department of Immigration and the National Police Service,” the statement read in part.

The move comes in the backdrop of concerns by Kenyans on the recent upsurge of numbers of foreigners of Pakistani descent in the country. In what is in concurrence with an earlier statement by the Government Spokesman Cyrus Oguna, the ministry stated that the foreigners were travellers on transit through the country’s international airport.

The Ministry averred that the travellers originated from Pakistan and have valid Transit Visas to Saudi Arabia, Visas that were issued to them upon arrival in Kenya.

In the statement, the government said that it was alarmed by the threat of the spread of Covid-19 pandemic posed by the growing number of travellers transiting through the country.

“The government will restrict the number of foreigners transiting through the country to levels that do not pose a risk to Kenya’s national interests,” the statement concluded.