Kenya orders closure of refugee camps, disbands refugee affairs agency

Kenya has said it will close all refugee camps in the country in the interest of national security noting refugee camps posed threats to its security.

In what could be seen as a strong indication send refugees away and a departure from previous threats, the Kenyan government disbanded the Department of Refugee Affairs, the body mandated to oversee refugee issues in the country.

“Due to immense security challenges such as threats of Al-Shabaab and other related terror groups that hosting of refugees has continued to pose to pose to Kenya and due to the slow nature of the repatriation the government of Kenya has been forced by circumstances to reconsider the whole issue of hosting refugees and the process of repatriation,” read a statement signed by the country’s Interior permanent secretary.

Kenya rescinded a decision last year to close the camps after the deputy president William Ruto earlier declared the camps would be closed forthwith.

Kenya which hosts over 600,000 refugees in Kakuma and Daadab refugee camps in the northern part of the country has called on the international community to take collective action on the humanitarian needs which might arise out of its intended action.

Kenya, Somali and the refugee agency, UNCR signed a tripartite agreement in 2013 that would see voluntary repatriation of Somali refugees who number over 450,000 in Daadab camp to Somalia. However, Kenya has accused aid agencies of frustrating the process with the objective of benefitting from continued stay of refuges.

Kenya’s interior minister Joseph Nkaissery told Kenyan parliament UN agencies were out to make a kill out of refugee camps in northern Kenya. “There are big wars there; otherwise many refugees are willing to go back, but the NGOs are not interested because they make a lot of money in the process,” said Mr Nkaisery.