Refugees in Kenya handed leave deadline
NAIROBI: The government of Kenya has said that all refugees, including those living in urban areas, must leave the country by November.
The announcement came as a surprise to the refugees living in urban areas such as Nairobi, who had assumed they were not affected by the November deadline that had earlier been given to Somali refugees living in the Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps.
The principal administrative secretary from the Ministry of the Interior, Joseph Irungu, dropped the bombshell at celebrations held in Nairobi to mark World Refugee Day, which was observed on June 20 worldwide.
“All refugees living in urban areas must now return to the designated refugee camps to avoid conflict with the laws of Kenya,” said Irungu, adding that all refugees, including those in camps would be required to leave Kenya by November.
According to information from an non-governmental organisation (NGO) called HIAS Refugee Trust of Kenya, refugees move from camps into urban areas due to inadequate humanitarian assistance, protection services and educational opportunities in refugee camps.
Irungu, who also serves as the head of the national repatriation secretariat, made it clear that a deadline had been set and the government would start the exercise of repatriating refugees “soon” – but did not give an exact date when the highly contested exercise would begin.
His remarks set off murmurs among the people gathered at the event – most of whom were refugees. The guests included NGOs that deal with refugees, UN officials, ambassadors and other organisations and individuals, including entertainers, who run programmes for refugees and asylum seekers.
Irungu said that Kenya acknowledged its international obligations concerning the treatment of refugees, but regretted that the country’s hospitality had been abused over the years with the sprawling refugee camps in north-eastern Kenya being used as hideouts for terrorists to launch attacks on Kenyans.
He said: “The Garissa (University) and the Westgate (shopping mall) terrorist attacks (in 2015 and 2013, respectively) were both traced back to Dadaab refugee camp. Terrorists come here as refugee imposters and carry out their intelligence and attacks within.”
Irungu said Kenya had hosted refugees for over 25 years and now the time had come for them to return home.
“No crisis should remain unresolved for this long. Time has come for Somalis to go back home,” said Irungu adding that nine locations in Somalia had been identified as safe zones for Somalis to resettle in their homeland.
“Refugee status is not a permanent status. Dadaab (refugee camp) shall be closed by November this year. We ask the international community to assist in the exercise of resettling them (refugees) and we also ask the refugees to come out in large numbers to be repatriated,” said Irungu.
He said that the government would review the Refugee Act 2006 in order to reflect and align it with the constitution of 2010.
Prior to Irungu’s speech, speakers from the UN and the US government pleaded with Nairobi to reconsider its decision to repatriate refugees.
HIAS country director Lucy Kiama said it would be better to integrate the refugees, especially those who were born in Kenya and knew no other home. – AP