Eritrean Mother Mourns Daughter Lost in Lake Turkana Smuggling Tragedy
The Deadly New Migrant Route Through Kenya’s Largest Lake
As the sun set over Kenya’s Lake Turkana, Senait Mebrehtu wept while scattering flowers into the turquoise waters – a heartbreaking tribute to her 14-year-old daughter Hiyab, who drowned attempting to reach Kenya via a dangerous new smuggling route.
A Mother’s Painful Pilgrimage
The Eritrean Pentecostal Christian, who sought asylum in Kenya three years ago, traveled to northwestern Kenya to see where her daughter perished last year. Hiyab had been making the treacherous lake crossing with her sister, who miraculously survived the nighttime journey across the vast, windswept waters.
“If the smugglers told me there was such a big and dangerous lake in Kenya, I wouldn’t have let my daughters come this far,” Senait told the BBC from the western shoreline.
The Desperate Journey From Eritrea
Senait had originally fled to Nairobi by plane with her two younger children to escape religious persecution, leaving behind Hiyab and another daughter who were nearing Eritrea’s mandatory conscription age. The teenagers later begged to join her, leading relatives to arrange their passage with smugglers.
The girls endured a weeks-long overland journey from Eritrea through Ethiopia before reaching Lake Turkana’s northeastern shores – the world’s largest permanent desert lake that has become an increasingly popular but deadly smuggling route.
The “Digital Route” Smuggling Network
A female smuggler, speaking anonymously to the BBC, confirmed Lake Turkana’s growing use for illegal crossings. “We call it the digital route because it is very new,” she explained, detailing how she earns $1,500 per migrant – four times Kenya’s average monthly wage.
With Kenyan authorities intensifying road patrols, smugglers have pivoted to the lake route. Migrants are received in the fishing village of Lomekwi before being transported 15 hours to Nairobi, often in dangerously overloaded wooden boats.
A Witness to Tragedy
Eritrean migrant “Osman” described watching Hiyab’s boat capsize 300 meters from shore, killing seven people. “The cause of deaths was plain negligence. They put too many people in a small boat,” Senait lamented.
Local fishermen reported seeing multiple migrant bodies floating in the lake in July 2024, including teenagers. The UNHCR recorded 345,000 Eritrean refugees in East Africa as of June 2024, many fleeing forced military conscription and political repression.
The Smuggling Pipeline to Safety
The smuggler described a vast network spanning Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and South Africa, with migrants paying up to $5,000 for the journey. Many endure squalid conditions in “holding houses” while awaiting transit, with some dying from hunger or abuse.
While some migrants settle in Kenya, others use it as a transit point to seek refugee status in Uganda, Rwanda or South Africa, with some ultimately bound for Europe or North America.
A Mother’s Plea
For Senait, the loss of her daughter remains unbearable, though she finds solace in her elder daughter’s survival. “We have gone through what every Eritrean family is going through,” she said. “May God heal our land and deliver us from all this.”