Libya’s Chargé d' Affaires in Kenya, Mabruk Daia, has declared that investigations into the alleged slave markets in Libya are still ongoing by the authorities to establish if the alleged reports of slavery are indeed true and to prosecute and punish the people behind those crimes.

In an interview with Kenya’s The Standard newspaper published on Tuesday, Daia said that the Libyan people or government should not be unfairly blamed following media reports of migrants allegedly being sold as slaves in the country.

He indicated that organized criminal gangs have taken advantage of the political instability and insecurity in Libya and its long and porous borders to run human trafficking and illegal immigration routes to Europe, leaving migrants vulnerable to abuse and exploitation at their hands, calling for international help to tackle the problem.

He expressed regret that Libya has been wrongly portrayed as racist and anti-African, saying the country has in fact opened its doors to more than 2 million expatriate workers from African countries working and living there legally and in dignity.

"The Libyan people and government stand firmly against such inhuman practices which are incompatible with our values and laws. Any practices recorded against migrants are nothing more than individual practices by criminals," he said.

“Libya's has for many years pursued a policy of closer political, economic and cultural ties with the rest of African countries. It has investments of over US$10 billion in African countries.” He added.