Kathmandu, January 5

The honorary consul general of Nepal in Kenya is still working for the release of seven Nepali girls who are in detention in Kenya after they were rescued from a dance bar, according to an official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Indian diplomatic mission, with help of the Kenyan police, had on Wednesday rescued three Indian and seven Nepali girls from Sama Dance bar in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa.

The honorary consul general and the Nepali embassy in South Africa, which also oversees Kenya, are also trying to ascertain whether the girls have valid immigration documents, valid work permit, and whether safety and security can be guaranteed there, said MoFA Deputy Spokesperson Ram Babu Dhakal.

“Some of the girls are saying that they do not have any problem and they want to continue working there,” he said. “So our mission is trying to ascertain whether it’s legal and safe for the girls to stay there.”

He said officials of Nepali diplomatic mission there were holding talks with Kenyan authorities for their release and for further investigation on how they landed in Kenya and whether they could continue to live and work there.

Nepal’s Ambassador to South Africa Amrit Rai had told The Himalayan Times yesterday over phone that the Kenyan police raided the dance bar after the Indian girls complained with the Indian high commission that they had some problems with their employers, leading to the rescue and detention of the Nepali girls too.

The Indian government has already flown the rescued Indian girls back to India, India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had tweeted yesterday.

The Nepali girls have been working there for the past three to six months. They are from Nuwakot, Nawalparasi, Sindhupalchowk, Makawanpur, Tanahun and Surkhet districts, according to the embassy.