Eleven Ethiopians were on Tuesday morning arraigned in a Thika court charged with being in the country illegally, and all but one denied the charges before Chief Magistrate, Stephen Mbugi.
The illegal emigrants were charged that on May 7, 2015 this year, near Gatuanyaga village in Makwa town, Kiambu County, they were found without passports to validate their presence in the country.
According to prosecutor Nancy Muthuri, on the material day, police officers from Makwa were manning a road block along the said road, when a motor vehicle stopped a distance away and the driver ran away.
Police officers approached the vehicle and found the 11 Ethiopians and upon enquiry about passports, they were not able to produce the documents.
They were arrested and taken to Makwa police station, where they were charged with the offence.
The accused told the court they were on their way to Nairobi and had valid documents for being in Kenya, but were confiscated by unknown people on the way.
The one who admitted to being in the country illegally was fined Sh50,000 or in default to serve six months in jail, after which he will be repatriated back to Ethiopia.
The case was set for hearing on August 10, this year for the 10 others.