Dadaab Leaders Demand IDs For Locals

The leaders who spoke in Dadaab during the official opening of the Dadaab sub-county offices said that it had completely become difficult for the locals to secure jobs or travel and open bank accounts because they lack ID cards.

The leaders led by area MP Mohamed Dahiye and MCA Mohamed Abdi Farah lamented that the locals were being discriminated.

The leaders accused the government of treating Dadaab residents as second rate citizens.

Dahiye claimed that close to 50,000 local residents were in the refugee data base and this was making life difficult for them as they can not access government services.

Dahiye hit out at the national government for allegedly continuing to marginalize them.

Dahiye urged the government to set up ID registration centers in Dadaab for the registration process to begin and threatened to raise the matter in Parliament if it was not addressed immediately.

He added that the presence of the refugees camps in the area had made matters worse for them as the government uses it to deny them key services.

By Anne Muchiri