NAIROBI (HORN OBSERVER) - Kenya authorities on Friday denied IDs to hundreds of Somali people who lived in Kenya's coastal region for more than thirty years barely two days after the East Africa nation ordered UN to draft a plan to close two main camps, housing half-a-million refugees.
"Staying in Kenya for whatever period still doesn’t give you the right to claim Kenyan citizenship. You remain an immigrant and can only be recognised as an alien by law. We can only give you special cards showing you are in Kenya legally. You can’t be given national IDs. Never,” Macharia said.


The official said the registration of all immigrants who have attained the age of 18 is under way.

The announcement was vehemently opposed by immigrants who said ‘the lands they have worked had to acquire over the years might be grabbed by cartels who will take advantage of the fact that they have no title deeds.’

According to Kenyan constitution, a person who has been ordinarily resident in the country for a continuous period of 7 years are eligible for registration to become citizen.

The announcement comes a day after UNHCR was given two weeks ultimatum by Kenyan authorities, to draft a plan to send home hundreds of thousands of people including Somalis in Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps within four months.

Responding to Kenya’s order, UNHCR expressed concerned over the impact of the decision saying it would effect the protection of refugees in Kenya, including in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, adding that they will continue with dialogue with the Kenyan authorities on this issue.

Majority of the refugees are people from Somalia who were settled in the camps over three decades ago after Somalia’s central government was toppled in 1990s.

The decision to repatriate the refugees comes barely a week after International Court of Justice concluded the oral hearing of the maritime border dispute between Somalia and Kenya.

Kenya in letter sent to the court early March informed the court that it would not participate in the process, citing the impacts of COVID-19 and lack preparedness.

The East Africa also demanded the recusal of a Somali judge, Abdulqawi yussuf from the ICJ panel saying that the presence of Judge Yusuf, as part of the bench to hear the case has the potential for bias.