Petition filed to stop Kenya from repatriating double registration victims to Somalia

A petition has been filed at the Milimani Law courts seeking to have the court issue orders to stop the government from repatriating victims of double registration to Somalia or any other country, for lack of the national Identification Card, and on the mere basis that their data appears in the refugee database.

The petitioners argue that government has threatened to close Dadaab refugee and with that, the risk of bona fide Kenyans being repatriated to Somalia is real.

Further they claim that there is no specific reason given by the State for failing and or refusing to issue the victims who have undergone vetting and cleared with the national identification cards despite some of victims making the application for IDs since the year 2019.

“Pending the hearing and determination of the Petition the Honorable Court be pleased to issue a conservatory order restraining the Respondents or anyone else from repatriating the 2nd, 3rd & 4th Respondents herein who are bona fide Kenyans and victims of double registration…,”reads court papers.

The petitioners including Haki na Sheria Initiative, Hamdi Mohamed Muhumed , Sahal Abdi Amin and Deka Muktare Gure argue that the government has never systematically addressed the issue of nationality documents through the removal of the victims’ names from the refugee data base adding that the government has subjected the victims to unfair vetting severally.

“The Respondents have failed to address the registration problems and failed to issue national identification cards to the vetted and cleared persons and this only means that more people with similar problems will be denied the identification documents when they come of age,” they argue.

The petitioners claim they have willingly cooperated, however faced unreasonable and disproportionate delays in that even since the latest vetting in 2019 they haven’t been issued with ID documents.

It is their argument that they have suffered and continue to suffer as they have been unable to acquire National IDs which are required for one to be able to access basic services such as health services and education because the process is marred with difficulties and there is no clear provision on how to deal with persons who were already registered as refugees yet they are citizens of Kenya.

They have explained the double registration as a situation where genuine Kenyans in areas close to refugee camps such as Dadaab were registered as refugees and are in the refugee database so as to have access to the necessities available to refugees such as medical services and food especially during the drought periods in their areas.

They say that the double registration happened majorly during the periods of drought and hunger when such parents had no means to cater for their large families and unaware of the future repercussions on such children, they, with the best intention to provide for the children, rushed them to the refugee camps.

“Respondents have failed and continue to fail to fulfil their obligation in ensuring that all Kenyans specifically from the marginalized communities in Garissa and Wajir Counties have access to and enjoy socio-economic rights and this forced the parents from such areas to go to the surrounding refugee camps and have their children registered as refugees to have access to such rights,” they claim.