Nairobi — People travelling to South Africa illegally from the Horn of Africa are having a field day in Kenya. Their papers are prepared at the country's entry points by corrupt officials as they wait, of course after paying bribes.

In fact, the International Organisation for Migration, says illegal migrants from the Horn, Ethiopia and Somalia to South Africa get their travel documents cleared by corrupt immigration officials at social places rather than government offices at border points.

The clandestine migrations are sponsored mainly by friends and relatives of the illegal migrants, living abroad. Illegal migrants rarely bribe their way through. But the underhand dealings are done by brokers stationed along the route from Kenya to South Africa.

The IOM report In Pursuit of the Southern Dream: Victims of Necessity, says scores of Kenyans are among between 17,000 and 20,000 men smuggled to South Africa annually in pursuit of a dream of a better life.

However, IOM investigations found while many Ethiopians and Somalis flee conflict and insecurity back home, Kenyans head south as economic migrants.

The report says that all the men smuggled to SA (or part of the way) desired to reach a destination and to improve their lives but few were prepared or warned of the treatment they would face during the journey.

According to testimonies, some men never reached their final destination, instead serving time in various prisons and eventually being deported to Kenya or Ethiopia. In some extreme cases, the journey concludes prematurely with the death of the traveller, according to various testimonies collected during the research.

The document says smuggling of Ethiopians and Somalis into South Africa takes between seven and eight weeks and costs from about US $34 million (about Sh2.6 billion) to $40 million (about Sh3 billion).

However, it takes only a week to smuggle Kenyans to the same destination. Interestingly, smuggled Kenyans interviewed in South Africa did not indicate cases of harassment.

But the government has dismissed most findings in the document, with Immigration minister Otieno Kajwang' claiming it was aimed at tarnishing immigration officials. Some areas, he said, "were handled inconclusively."

Mr Kajwang' denied immigration officials were involved in corruption. "These people (IOM) want to say we are corrupt. We are not corrupt ... Our officers are not corrupt," he told the Saturday Nation.

He said the issues raised in the report "need to be verified, re-examined and stated with the backing of substantial facts."

He challenged the IOM to come out with more details on alleged corruption among immigration officials.

"The researcher alleges Kenyans pay small bribes to immigration officers to obtain visas. More details on this would be of interest to this department," he said. However, he said the government would take "substantive measures in public interest as and when we receive updates."

Various locations

The IOM commissioned the research last year initially to investigate alleged trafficking of men from East Africa and the Horn to South Africa as well as the extent of the practice.

The research covered seven countries and various locations in each country, from Ethiopia to South Africa. Kenya was described as a source and transit country while Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, and Mozambique were all named as transit countries.

The specific interest in the movement of men was due to the recognition of a gap in data collection and analysis: most research on trafficking focuses on women, says the report written by an IOM "independent" consultant Christopher Horwood.

"While no trafficking was identified, the research did reveal the large-scale smuggling of men, as well as allegations of severe human rights violations, abuse and exploitation," says the 168-page document. Around 800 men were interviewed.

"No significant evidence of trafficking of males from East Africa or the Horn of Africa towards South Africa. After questioning almost 800 relevant people in the region - most with their own substantial networks or communities - not one case of trafficking of men as defined by the UN Trafficking Protocol from Kenya, Somalia or Ethiopia to RSA was identified.

Scores of Kenyans, it says, are part of around 20,000 men smuggled to the south annually in a lucrative, well-organised clandestine syndicate that involves well-connected "untouchable" people, government officials as well as police. And the business, at times involves, smuggling people in sealed, airless goods containers.

But, IOM investigations found out, for most men smuggled into South Africa, "the relief upon arrival and the abounding hope and optimism with which they face the future often dull the memory of their painful journey."

The report says according to 25 certified in-depth interviews with Kenyan migrants as well as feedback from 114 others, most Kenyans simply take a bus to SA.

"Some travel legally, flying with their regular passports and visas obtained from the RSA High Commission in Nairobi (directly, or, allegedly using a facilitator with contacts at the embassy), and some travel with truck drivers hauling goods between Kenya and RSA.

Kenyans rarely travel in groups (unless taking a bus) and pay relatively small bribes at the relevant border crossings to obtain visas allowing them safe passage through countries. Sometimes travellers are required to take a series of buses, but others find buses that take them directly.