NAIROBI, Kenya — The Directorate of Criminal Investigations has intensified efforts to combat human trafficking and migrant smuggling, warning that the crimes continue to expose vulnerable people to forced labour, sexual exploitation and abuse across borders.
Speaking during the opening of a Training of Trainers Workshop at the National Criminal Investigations Academy, Deputy Director of Criminal Investigations Mr. Onyango described trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants as among the most dangerous forms of transnational organised crime affecting the region.
Onyango, who represented DCI Director Mohammed Amin, said criminal syndicates were increasingly targeting vulnerable populations through deception, coercion and exploitation.
“Trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants remain the most serious forms of transnational organised crime, preying on vulnerable populations through forced labour, sexual exploitation, abuse, and various other forms of human suffering,” Onyango said.
The workshop brought together instructors from police training institutions across Kenya to strengthen investigative and prosecutorial capacity in cases involving trafficking in persons (TIP) and smuggling of migrants (SOM).
According to the DCI, the programme forms part of wider efforts to institutionalise specialised investigative training on TIP and SOM within Kenya’s police training curriculum.
The training comes as Kenya faces growing pressure to strengthen enforcement against human trafficking networks operating within East Africa and along international migration routes.
Security agencies and human rights organisations have repeatedly warned that economic hardship, unemployment, and irregular migration have increased the vulnerability of young people and migrant workers to trafficking schemes.
Kenya is both a source, transit, and destination country for trafficking victims, according to previous assessments by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and international anti-trafficking agencies.
Victims are often trafficked for domestic servitude, forced labour, online exploitation, and commercial sexual exploitation.
The DCI said the government remains committed to dismantling trafficking syndicates while safeguarding the dignity and welfare of survivors.
Amin also acknowledged support from international partners, including the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the European Union, and Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development for supporting Kenya through technical assistance, institutional support and specialised training.
Among senior officials who attended the ceremony were Ibrahim Jilo and Stephen Chacha.
The renewed crackdown comes against the backdrop of Kenya’s obligations under the Counter-Trafficking in Persons Act, 2010, and international protocols aimed at combating organised crime and protecting victims of exploitation.
