NAIROBI, Kenya (AXADLE) – Refugees and folks seeking asylum in Kenya now face an ultimatum. Kenya’s Ministry of Interior decrees they must hand over their passports or travel papers by month’s end, under threat of losing refugee status or getting booted out, legally speaking.
This order comes on the heels of whispers that certain refugees have been globe-trotting with their native passports, stirring a ruckus about potential trickery and refugee system shenanigans.
Refugees have been given 30 days to get with the program, according to John Burugu, the head honcho of Kenya’s Refugee Affairs.
“Refugees are banned from using native nation passports due to murmurings of misuse,” Burugu pronounced. “Noncompliance will trigger stiff legal measures like stripping refugee status and possible eviction.”
This rule smacks most among Somali refugees, Kenya’s most sizable refugee community, many of whom fled the chaos and parched land of Somalia.
Most call the Dadaab settlement home, with others nestled in Kakuma camp and strewn about Nairobi. By April 2024, Kenya hosted 299,567 sanctioned Somali refugees, 17,915 bunking in Nairobi.
But word on the street hints there might be between 50,000 and 100,000 Somali refugees in Nairobi flying under the radar.
Burugu pointed out that refugees wanting to travel on the up and up can snag machine-readable travel docs from the Department of Refugee Services to align with the edict.
Concerns have bubbled up among Somali leaders about this mandate, especially since Somalia’s hopped into the East African Community, which throws a wrench into the legal works for Somali passport holders.
“We’re between a rock and a hard place,” shared Abdullahi Ali Adan, the head honcho at Dagahaley camp. “Refugees are stuck picking between their passports and keeping legal refugee status in Kenya.”
Adan also took a swipe at the 30-day countdown as being woefully brief. “Passports are critical for business, and getting those refugee travel papers is no cakewalk. This deadline’s a tight squeeze.”
In light of these grievances, Kenyan officials are said to be chewing over extending the deadline after confabbing with Somali refugee leaders.
Negotiations have been slated for next week between Kenyan and Somali refugee reps.
More than 96% of Kenya’s refugee populace is Somali, according to the UNHCR numbers.
Human rights advocates have previously slammed Kenya for biased actions against Somali refugees, citing the notorious 2014 deportations that miffed global groups far and wide.
