Twenty seven Kenyan workers found guilty of stay in Somalia to be deported

A regional court in Mogadishu has found guilty twenty seven Kenyan nationals for being in the country illegally.

Bandadir regional court judge Hachi Elimi Nour read the verdict in the court ,“The court fines each of the 27 defendants to pay $10 of each day stayed inside Somalia illegally and then they must be deported back to their country immediately” said the judge.

The court did not however state the number of days the foreign nationals had been in the country illegally. The defendants had appeared Tuesday in court on grounds they did not have work permits and did not have the necessary documents to be in the country illegally.

The court also fined  Laborlink being the company that employed the twenty seven defendants $ 10,000 US (Ten thousand US dollars).

This case is unprecedented for the last 25 years and send strong message to companies and entities that on the need to adhere to the existing laws and regulations with regard to sourcing labour from outside the country.

The case comes up as the Federal Parliament is debating the Foreign Investment and Labour Bill which is expected to among other things regulate the employment of foreign nationals in the country.