The United States government says it has been financially supporting Kenya to host refugees and asylum seekers from other African countries including Somalia, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia among others.
According to communication from the US State department, Kenya was given nearly USD106 million (approximately Sh11 billion) for refugee protection and humanitarian assistance last year.
“The U.S. has provided nearly $106 million for refugee protection and humanitarian assistance to help Kenya as it provides regional leadership by hosting refugees and asylum seekers from Somalia, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, and elsewhere,” says the State department.
These details emerged as President Uhuru Kenyatta held bilateral talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Kenya at the same time wants Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps closed by June 30 next year, six months earlier than the date proposed by a UN agency’s roadmap.
Kenyan authorities say the two camps, which hold more than 500,000 refugees, a majority of them from Somalia, have been turned into cauldrons of terror and a threat to national security.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i will today hold talks with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Filippo Grandi, at which the Kenyan government will request for a roadmap to meet the new deadline that authorities insist is non-negotiable.
Kenya rejected a proposal by UNHCR for the closure of the refugee camps that stretched to December 31 next year, leading to fresh talks with the UN agency’s delegation earlier this week when the new date was communicated.
Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho also attended the meeting during which the Kenyan government explained to UNHCR why its initial open-ended proposal was unacceptable and stressed Kenya is this time determined to shut down the camps after past efforts failed.
Out of the 512,494 refugees in Kenya, there are 224,462 Somalis in Dadaab and 206,458 in Kakuma.
The two camps have been in operation since 1991, when Somalia plunged into civil war.
Other refugees are 127,412 from South Sudan, DRC (46,024), Ethiopia (29,718), Burundi (17,286), Rwanda (1,917), Eritrea (1,955), Uganda (2,739), Sudan (10,199) and 945 from other nationalities.
The refugees from these neighbouring countries have the option of accepting free work permits or returning home.
Besides straining resources, Kenya has protested the two sprawling camps pose a threat to security, undermine the nation’s economy through illicit trade and abet environmental degradation.
