CSs Amina, Nkaissery summoned by MPs over repatriation of refugees

CSs Amina, Nkaissery summoned by MPs over repatriation of refugees

Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Ambassador Amina Mohammed and Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery have been summoned to explain why the Government wants to repatriate refugees at Dadaab Camp back to Somalia.

The Parliamentary Caucus on Human Rights asked the House Committee on Defence and Foreign Relations to grill the two Cabinet Secretaries on the repatriation of the refugees.

This comes as several leaders from Isiolo County are divided over the repatriation of refugees. Pressure has been mounting on Kenya to rescind its decision to close the Daadab and Kakuma Refugee Camps.

The government declared that it would no longer be hosting refugees in the interest of national security.

Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho said the move is part of measures the government is putting in place to restore security in the country due to the challenge posed by the Al Shabaab fighters.

Last week, the government restated its position that it will repatriate the more than 600,000 refugees living in the country’s camps by November this year.

Nkaissery said the government has formed a task force to oversee the repatriation process, with the timetable to be released by the 31st of this month when it files its report.

Nkaissery said Dadaab and Kakuma Refugee Camps have become centers of poaching, human trafficking, illegal arms and where terror attacks are plotted, among other ills hence the decision.

“Kenya is presently hosting over 600,000 refugees and has been doing so for a quarter of a Century. 25 years is defined as a whole generation. Refugee camps are not permanent settlements, they are not migration centres, and yet this seems to be what refugee camps in Kenya have been turned into. Refugee camps are supposed to be a temporary humanitarian remedy awaiting stabilization of their countries of origin.”

The CS said the move to deal with the refugee hurdle is informed by national security interests, and is meant to put the country’s national security first even as it deal with its humanitarian obligations.

Tags:

refugees somalia kakuma daadab Mohammed Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohammed. Nkaissery Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery

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