Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Raychelle Omamo has hit out at donors for splashing money on the refugee crisis and not providing lasting solutions.
Speaking to a group of diplomats in Nairobi, CS Omamo said funding all kinds of humanitarian campaigns is not enough in solving the refugee crisis.
Omamo called upon donor countries to take in refugees and help end the suffering of millions of people who do not have a place to call home.
She pointed out that with numerous civil wars and instability across the world the refugee problem is becoming even bigger and persistent.
“Solidarity means that people share burdens and sharing burdens doesn’t mean just throwing money at them. It means actually taking refugees in.”
“There should be no refugees in the world. There are too many peaceful countries in our world,” CS Omamo stated.
The CS stated that Kenya will continue to temporarily host refugees and provide emergency care for those who arrive from troubled regions.
However, CS Omamo reiterated that keeping refugees for eternity only humiliates them and a permanent solution was needed.
Kenya has been trying to close refugees camps and have asylum seekers resettled in other countries but all has been in vain.
The government in March had given the UNHCR a 14-day ultimatum to come up with a road map on the definite closure of Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps.
Kenya noted with concern the rising terror threats planned from Dadaab and Kakuma refugees 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,” advised the letter at the time.
Later that day, the UN refugee agency responded to the Kenyan government, asking the authorities to ensure that any decisions on the Daadab and Kakuma camps are accompanied by sustainable and profound solutions.
But Interior CS Fred Matiang'i and the head of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) Filippo Grandi struck a deal over the closure of the Dadaab and Kakuma.
Matiang'i noted that they agreed that the closure exercise should be finalised by June 2022 and the affected individuals would either be repatriated or get free work permits to continue living in Kenya.
