Relocation for 12,900 refugees to Kakuma begins

By Peter Orengo and Anne Kanina

More than 12,900 Somali refugees from the overcrowded Dadaab Refugee Camp are being relocated to Kakuma camp in the northwest.

The exercise by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and International Organisation for Migration (IOM) kicked off on August 15 with the first batch of 311.

Another convoy of 13 buses with 520 refugees left for Kakuma on Monday and is expected to reach today. The relocation will be by road while vulnerable cases will be assessed and airlifted.

This is part of a multi-phase plan to decongest the 18-year-old Dadaab refugee camps, which host more than three times the population they were initially designed to accommodate.

Refugees Affairs

"As a result, thousands of refugees and host community alike will potentially gain from decongestion of camps, and will equally benefit from better access to service," IOM Regional Representative said Ashraf El Nour.

At the same time, Immigration Minister Otieno Kajwang has instituted a Refugees Affairs Committee to assist the commissioner for refugees in the country manage refugees’ affairs.

"The committee’s mandate will concern recognition of asylum seekers as refugees, protection of refugees and making policy recommendations," the minister said in a speech read on his behalf by his PS, Mr Emmanuel Kisombe.

Mr Phares Ratego, who has been working with United States Agency for International Development (Usaid) will chair the committee of 11.

Well screened

The PS said the Government is acquiring 2,000 hectares of land from communities around the camp, which will first be developed with necessary infrastructure, to resettle some of the inhabitants of Dadaab.

Commissioner for Refugees Peter Kusimba said a team of ministers will visit the land and if they are satisfied with it, then the new refugee camp will be operationalised.

Mr Kusimba urged security forces to be vigilant at entry points to prevent non-refugees getting into the country.

"Refugees must be well screened before they enter the country to ensure we do not play host to dangerous people," said Kisombe.

Meanwhile refugees from Rwanda have been allowed to return to their country of their own volition since their country was enjoying peace.

"We have 2,000 refugees from Rwanda but we cannot force them to go back since repatriation is a choice," said Kusimba.