The middle-aged man, who appeared before Mombasa Chief Magistrate Martha Mutuku, on Tuesday, April 12, told the court that he had thought he had hitched a ride on a ship heading to Europe.
The stowaway admitted that he entered the ship using the ramp and took cover in deck six.
The stowaway pleaded with the court to be lenient on him after he was found guilty of failing to report his departure to the nearest immigration office.
He expressed remorse over his actions, pleading with the court to set him free and drop the charges.
“I regret my actions and ask for forgiveness from this court and promise never to repeat the mistake that I have committed,” he told the court.
The law enforcement officers who nabbed him corroborated his report noting that he was nabbed while hiding in the ship’s ramp.
They told the court that the stowaway gained entry into the ship by posing as a door service provider.
The court will sentence him on Thursday, April 14.
Early this year, another Kenyan stowaway braved extreme weather conditions while hiding in the nose wheel section of an Amsterdam-bound cargo plane.
Dutch authorities reported that the stowaway might have braved the cold weather for almost 11 hours.
The plane had departed from Johannesburg, South Africa, made a stop over in Nairobi, before embarking at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam.
“He was taken to hospital in a stable condition. We were surprised upon finding this man but even more surprised at him being alive after the plane flew over 10,000 kilometres in very, very cold temperatures. It is quite remarkable that the man is still alive,” Royal Dutch Military Police spokeswoman, Joanna Helmonds, stated.
Source: KENYAGIST.COM
