KITUO CHA SHERIA BLOG

KITUO Forced Migration Programme (FMP) held a Police Consultative Forum on 20th March 2014 to discuss the question of refugee protection vis a vis the question of national security and how to reach a balance between the two. The event was held at Nomad Hotel in Eastleigh. The event was graced by various police heads; OCSs and OCPDs from Central, Kamkunji, Comfortable, Harvest, Shauri Moyo and Industrial Area. The Member of Parliament for Kamukunji, Yusuf Hassan was also present.
Speaking during the event, She. Yusuf Hassan expressed his concern over the increased state of insecurity and urged the police heads to work to see that the situation is addressed especially within Eastleigh. He acknowledged the fact East Leigh is one of the terrorist hotspot that had been on the limelight for breading terrorism in the country. However, he was quick to state that not all refugees of Somali refugees are linked with terrorism. Citing countries such as Ethiopia that has a large number of Somali refugees but has few instances of terrorism, he argued those present that something need to be done in addressing the question of insecurity. He questioned the legality of some refugees who are allowed to come into the city from the camps without being able to sustain themselves economically because they end up being used to terrorize people.
Linet Opiyo from UNHCR, addressed the issue of refugee protection within Nairobi and its environs. She expressed her fear over the government’s closure of the registration programme of refugees. She pointed out that documentation of refugees had been an issue that has not been addressed. This is because refugees have different registration documents having diverse format something that makes the work of police more complicated because they do not know which document to check and which one is valid.