Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar

Kiikuuyo desperation

Recommended Posts

They do this kind of move every few years. The late Moi used to do moves like this in the 1990s as well. Kenyatta junior tried this move back in 2014. It did not work and doesn't work. They know it it doesn't for UN provides a lot of economic activities in Kenya, including their very large headquarters based in Westlands neighbourhood of Nayroobi. They are trying to tie this to badda case.

_____________________

Kenya gives UNHCR two weeks to ‘have road map’ on closure of Dadaab, Kakuma refugee camps

ExOmlNRWEAAoMyB?format=jpg&name=large

The Kenyan government has issued a two-week ultimatum to the United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR) to ‘have road map on definite closure of Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps’. Saying there is no room for further negotiations.

The two are the world’s largest refugee camps located in Kenya.

Kenya’s Daily Nation reports that Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i delivered a letter to the UNHCR which stated Kenya’s concerns of rising terror threats planned from Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps.

“There is no room for negotiation. We must strike a balance between Kenya’s international obligation and her domestic duties. We do have a domestic responsibility to protect Kenya,” the letter read in parts.

UNHCR Representative in Kenya, Fathiaa Abdala said that she would present the matter to senior officials and said that the commission was committed to finding new solutions that would see the refugees reduced in Kenya.

In the letter, Kenya cited terror threats as the main reason for its latest request and neglect by other countries to aid in managing the over 500,000 refugees.

Matiang’i said that the past Mpeketoni, Lamu, Garrisa and Westgate attacks were planned and executed from the said refugee camps.

In addition to terror threats in the country and the draining of resources, Matiang’i also noted that the government’s effort to have war-torn areas where Al-Shabaab operates in Somalia to be labeled as terrorist organizations have been hindered continuously.

Matiang’i further noted that the smuggling of contraband from Somalia has been the main source of funding terrorism activities despite the governments’ effort to cab illegal trading within the borders.

If the two weeks lapse without the UNHCR taking any action, the government is set to have the refugees deported back to their countries of origin.

More than 500,000 people would be left homeless as a result.

With a population of more than 274,000, the majority of refugees at Dadaab and Kakuma are from Somalia.  The rest of the refugees are comprised of people from South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Uganda and other neighboring countries

Xigasho

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Mma, this time I think they are serious, Farmaajo and Somali government must prepare bringing 2 million refugees home, about time they should return , live in dignity and rebuild their nation.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
1 hour ago, Saalax said:

Ain't Kakuma and Dadaab in NFD.  Why they acting like those people are in Kikuyu lands.

Maya, Kakuuma is close to South Sudan border and most refugees in this camp are South Sudanese.

Some Soomaalis were moved to Kakuuma when Dhadhaab became over-crowded.

  • Thanks 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Somali Immigrants Face Deportation as State Flexes Muscles

Somali immigrants living in Nairobi and people suspected of funding terrorism could be deported or have their properties requisitioned in the coming days as Kenya continues to flex its muscles amid deteriorating relations between it and Somalia.

The decision, which is awaiting approval by the National Security Council, comes as Nation learnt that Kenya is reaching out to countries that have influence over Somalia to help mediate between them.

Among the countries that have been approached by Kenya, according to security sources, is Qatar, which has in recent years taken a prominent role in positioning itself as the main backer of Somali President Mohamed Farmaajo.

Somalia cut diplomatic ties with Kenya in December last year, accusing Nairobi of meddling with her internal affairs. Since then, everything has been going downhill before suddenly escalating last Monday after Kenya decided it will not take part in the hearings of its maritime dispute case with Somalia at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

With an amicable solution to the border dispute unlikely to be found in the near future and Somalia standing by her decision to claim the resource-rich 160,580 square-kilometre territory in the Indian Ocean, Nairobi has decided to play hardball.

Already, Kenya has issued a 14-day ultimatum to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to close Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps, a decision that has not gone down well with the international agency.

Refugees

Yesterday, the UNHCR pleaded with Kenya to put on hold that decision until a sustainable solution is found.

"The decision would have an impact on the protection of refugees in Kenya, including in the context of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. We will continue our dialogue with the Kenyan authorities on this issue," said a statement from UNHCR.

Dadaab and Kakuma hold at least 400,000 refugees who are mostly Somali. Shutting the camps down in two weeks and ordering the refugees home could create a humanitarian crisis in the horn of Africa nation that has been at war for 30 years and does not have a stable government.

As if that is not enough, Kenya could crack down on Somali foreigners living in Nairobi in the coming days and send them home. A similar crackdown was carried out in 2014 after a series of terror attacks in Mombasa and Nairobi.

Under a plan dubbed "Operation Usalama Watch", General Service Unit (GSU) officers backed by those from the Anti-Terror Police Unit (ATPU) rounded up thousands of Somalis who were in Kenya illegally from Eastleigh, South C, Lang'ata, Kawangware and Kasarani in Nairobi.

Those arrested were detained at the Moi International Sports Centre stadium in Kasarani as their citizenship was being ascertained. Those found without papers were bussed to refugee camps or deported to Somalia. Eastleigh, in particular, is a bustling neighbourhood-cum-business hub, and is home to hundreds of thousands of Somalis who are either indigenous Kenyans or are in Nairobi illegally.

Security sources have told Nation that the idea of weeding out illegal aliens has always been there due to terror concerns, but has only recently been kicked into high gear.

Additionally, the government could, in the coming days, rein in on businesses suspected of being used as conduits to fund terrorism and the al-Shabaab terror group. Those in the know say that businesses ascertained to be funding terrorism will be put on a sanctions list and will be classified as specified entities.

Terror sympathisers

Under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2012, 'specified entities' are Level One enemies of the state and are equated with terrorist groups. Being a member of a terrorist group is punishable with 30 years' imprisonment.

The law, however, recommends that, for anyone to be declared a terrorist sympathiser, they should be allowed to demonstrate within seven days why this should not happen. A similar exercise last year ended up in nine people being classified as terror sympathisers.

Those whose accounts and properties got frozen are Halima Adan Ali, Waleed Ahmed Zein, Sheikh Guyo Gorsa Boru, Mohamed Abdi Ali alias Abu Fidaa, Nuseiba Mohammed Haji, Abdimajit Adan Hassan, Mohammed Ali Abdi, Mukhtar Ibrahim Ali and Mire Abdulahhi Elmi.

The new plan by the government comes as Jubaland, a semi-autonomous state within Somalia and a key ally of Nairobi, suffered a blow as it emerged that one of its key security figures was planning to join forces with President Farmaajo.

Mr Abdirashid Hassan Abdinur alias Abdirashid Janan, the Jubaland security minister, has, for months been hiding in Mandera where Kenya had given him asylum. Somali media yesterday reported that Mr Janan, in a move that could greatly tilt the power balance in the war-torn nation, had suddenly been sacked by Jubaland president Ahmed Madobe.

Mr Janan, who hails from the **** clan, which occupies the Gedo region near the Kenyan border, has troops loyal to him. Immediately after the news of his sacking came out, it was announced that he had joined forces with Mr Farmaajo.

The move by Mr Janan comes at a time when the Somali government continues to build up troop numbers in Gedo, fuelling speculation that President Farmaajo may be planning a move for the port city of Kismayu.

Any military move by Somali troops may eventually put African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom) Sector Two forces, particularly the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), on a collision course with the Somali National Army (SNA). Mr Janan comes from the upper region of Gedo, whose large swathes are still in the hands of al-Shabaab militants.

He was once the subject of bitter clashes between the SNA and Jubaland Security Forces (JSF) loyal to him, as the Somali government sought to arrest him from Mandera.

In January, Somalia threatened to withdraw from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad) regional bloc after the group ruled in favour of Kenya, with the envoys saying they found that Mr Janan's troops were based inside Somalia under the command of the Jubaland forces.

Daily Nation

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Kenyan court ‘temporarily blocks’ closure of refugee camps

Case involving government plans to close Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps to return in the courtroom in a month, reports say.

Kenya’s high court has temporarily blocked the closure of two refugee camps hosting more than 400,000 people, according to media reports and activists.

On March 24, Kenyan Interior Minister Fred Matiang’i announced the government’s intention to shut the Dadaab and Kakuma camps, giving the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) two weeks to present a plan to do so. The ministry called this an “ultimatum” and said there was no room for further negotiations.

On Thursday, the court stayed the closure for 30 days, according to a copy of the court seen by news organisations. It originated from a petition filed by a local politician challenging a move to shut down the camps.

In March, the UNHCR urged the government to ensure that those who need protection continue to get it, and pledged to keep engaging in a dialogue.

“The decision would have an impact on the protection of refugees in Kenya, including in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,” the UNHCR said in a statement.

‘Terrifying’

The Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps in northern Kenya together host more than 410,000 people, mainly from Somalia but also from countries such as South Sudan and Ethiopia.

Citing national security concerns, authorities in Nairobi first signalled their plans to shut the Dadaab camp, which is closer to the border with Somalia than Kakuma, back in 2016.

That plan was blocked by the high court, which called the move unconstitutional.

Kakuma, home to more than 190,000 refugees, is located in Kenya’s northwest. Dadaab is in eastern Kenya, close to the Somali border, but many Somalis have moved between the two camps.

Dadaab was established three decades ago and was once the world’s largest refugee camp, which at its peak hosted more than half a million people fleeing violence and drought in Somalia.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, residents in both camps have urged the Kenyan government to reverse its decision.

“It’s very terrifying because we do not know the next step, like where are we going to go from here,” David Omot, an Ethiopian who has lived in both Kakuma and Dadaab since 2005, said of the closure order. “Where will we go? Back home we still have some insecurity, there are still some problems that people are facing, especially the youths.”

Austin Baboya, a South Sudanese 26-year-old based in Kakuma, said he has not known any other home than a refugee camp.

“I don’t know if the [Kenyan] government have sat down and considered the lives of people living in the camp or they just wake up and make those decisions,” Baboya said, calling on UNHCR and international donors to help find a solution.

“Before the camp was open very many people lost lives. Very many people fled their home countries … They have found a place to call home and I don’t think many of them are willing to go back.”

Aljasiira

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Desperate tactics.  Soomaali du waxay tiraa, 'nin biyo qaadeen, xunbo cuskay '. Very befitting of Kenya. 

Kenyan state debt is out of control.  Waa qarash doon.  Chinese are very close to taking over Mombasa port (indebted them to the tilts, now it's time to make them squeal). 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.