Kenya wanted Dadaab refugee complex closed, saying it was a recruiting ground for Al-Shabaab terror group. PHOTO FILE | NMG
Kenya will have to wait to reduce the number of refugees it
hosts as its voluntary repatriation and closure of camps plan has run
into challenges.
Lack of resources, insecurity in Somalia and opposition by human rights groups have forced Kenya to hold its horses.
In
July, for example, only 3,248 refugees — out of 241,355 —took advantage
of the voluntary repatriation programme. A total of 28,924 refugees
have returned to Somalia this year.
The programme,
which was launched in December 2014, is the result of the tripartite
agreement between the governments of Somalia, Kenya and the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
The
cumulative number of persons repatriated from Kenya to Somalia stands at
70,057. Currently there are 18,598 refugees willing to return to
Somalia.
Slipped back
Before
the voluntary repatriation programme, there were more than 270,000
refugees in Dadaab — a camp that was established in 1991.
Some
refugees, who had voluntarily returned to Somalia, slipped back to
Dadaab due to insecurity and lack of facilities in their home regions in
Somalia.
These refugees had joined the programme
believing the Kenya government would arbitrarily return them to Somalia
without taking into account where they came from.
The
Kenya government is also facing pressure from Western countries,
especially the UK and Germany, to allow refugees to seek jobs and
businesses to reduce the high numbers resorting to dangerous trips
through the Mediterranean Sea in search of jobs in Europe.
Kenya
had in March signed the Nairobi Declaration in which the five countries
hosting the Somalia refugees resolved to initiate durable solutions for
Somali refugees and reintegration of returnees in Somalia.
The
summit directed Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Djibouti and Yemen, which are
home to a total 900,000 Somalia refugees, to facilitate the free
movement of refugees and their integration into national development,
and access to services and jobs.
Mwenda Njoka, the spokesperson for Kenya’s Interior ministry, told The EastAfrican despite the country signing protocols regarding refugees, its primary responsibility is its citizens.
“We
don’t want to see a situation where xenophobia could creep in like in
some African countries, when Kenyan start feeling that their jobs are
being taken up by foreigners.
However,
Kenya agrees with the international community that the refugees should
be less dependent on humanitarian assistance and that is why we have
allowed Somalia refugees in Dadaab to operate businesses,” said Mr
Njoka.
He added that the refugees should take
advantage of the new Somalia government that has been calling for those
in the diaspora with skills to go back home and help rebuild the
country.
“Their skills are more needed in their country
where three-quarters of the Cabinet has either trained or studied in
Kenya, US, UK and Canada,” he said.
The government had
threatened to close the camp by November last year, arguing that the
Dadaab Refugee complex—that comprises five camps of Hagadera, Kambioos,
Ifo, Ifo2 and Dagahaley— was a recruitment ground for Al Shabaab, which
continues to terrorise Kenyan citizens, especially in north eastern.
It
extended the closure to June this year but the National Commission on
Human Rights went to court in February and obtained orders against the
move.
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