Rwandan nationals living in Nakuru have decried rampant harassment from the police who have been making arbitrary arrests of their members.

The group have accused the police of frustrating their stay in the county following consistent intimidation and extortion.

According to their leader Adrian Muhire, the officers from the Nakuru Central Police station have made their start up businesses difficult to run, following the continuous arrests in a bid to coerce them to pay bribes.

The Rwanda nationals whose presence has been on the rise in the county are known for engaging in small businesses and hawking tea and snacks along the streets of Nakuru city.

Read: From Rwanda to Nakuru: How these foreigners are taking over the hawking business

Others are said to sell second hand clothes while others run salon services as a means to eke a living in the county.

However, they claim police harassment has been their biggest challenge to the peaceful stay in the region.

“The officers who have been able to profile our members have been constantly soliciting bribes from our members while threatening to arrest them. It has caused fear among our members who are now afraid of walking within town where they are supposed to hawk their products,” said Mr Muhire.

The recent incident is where three of their members were arrested from their houses in Bondeni by officers who claimed they were hiding stolen property.

Mr Janvier Niyonkuru who was among those who were arrested last week said the officers stormed their houses in the morning and arrested him and his other two friends.

They kept them locked inside the central police station for hours without telling them reasons for their incarceration.

“It was until evening when they told us that we were having a stolen television. But this was not true because we bought the TV a long time ago,” said Mr Niyonkuru.

He claimed it was until they parted with Sh 5,000 that the police agreed to release them.

“The arrest and incarceration saw us suffer double losses since we could not open our business as well as parting with the money to pay the police,” said Mr Niyonkuru.

The Nakuru East County commissioner Mr Were Simiyu said he was not aware of the harassment but promised to look into the matter.

He however cautioned the foreigners against being in the country without necessary documents.

“We are going to look into the matter and address it amicably. I however want to urge the foreigners to ensure they have proper documentation to allow them to stay and conduct business in the country,” said Mr Simiyu.

Nakuru County Police Commander Mr Samuel Ndanyi on his part also denied knowledge of the harassment, but promised to take action on officers found culpable.

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