Document #1267915
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Author)
Reports available to the DIRB indicate that
refugees in Kenya have been targets for harassment, forced
repatriation and rape (News From Africa Watch 4 Oct. 1993;
11 Dec. 1990; BBC Summary 7 July 1993;
Documentation-Réfugiés 2 Aug. 1993; Xihnua 23
July 1993).
According to a report of the BBC Summary of
World Broadcasts, 1336 Somali refugees were reported to have been
forcibly repatriated (27 July 1993). The permanent secretary of the
Ministry of Home Affairs and National Heritage reportedly denied
this and maintained that those returned were not genuine refugees
but "a group of bandits and their sympathisers who have been
involved in banditry activities across the Kenya border." He
further stated that the number of 1336 was not accurate as only 750
refugees (300 women, 400 children and 50 men) were repatriated
(ibid.). In another report, a Kenyan minister allegedly accused
refugees of involvement in the illegal sale of arms (Xinhua 23 July
1993).
According to the Ghanaian Times of
17 February 1989, seven soccer players from Somalia claimed refugee
status in Kenya. They were reportedly detained when the UNHCR
handed them over to the government for processing, and the office
of the UNHCR in Nairobi was denied access to them (ibid.). In 1990,
1000 refugees were reported to have been forcibly repatriated from
Kenya after a directive issued by President Moi requiring Ugandan
and Rwandan refugees to leave the country "immediately" (News
from Africa Watch 11 Dec. 1990). For additional reading on this
topic, please refer to the attached documents.
This response was prepared after
researching publicly accessible information currently available to
the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does
not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular
claim to refugee status or asylum.
BBC Summary of World Broadcasts. 27
July 1993. "Kenya: Government Denies that Somali Refugees Have Been
Forcibly Repatriated." (NEXIS)
Documentation-Réfugiés [Paris]. 20 July-2
August 1993. No. 221. "Kenya."
Ghanaian Times [Accra]. 17
February 1989. "UNHCR Laments over Kenyan Action."
News from Africa Watch [New
York]. 4 October 1993. Vol. 5, No. 1. "Seeking Refuge, Finding
Terror."
. 11 December 1990. "Kenya: Illegal
Expulsion of More than 1000 Refugees."
The Xinhua General Overseas News
Service. 23 July 1993. "Refugees in Kenya Sell Arms, Says Kenyan
Minister." (NEXIS)
BBC Summary of World Broadcasts. 27 July
1993. "Kenya: Government Denies that Somali Refugees Have Been
Forcibly Repatriated." (NEXIS)
Documentation-Réfugiés [Paris]. 20 July-2
August 1993. No. 221. "Kenya."
Ghanaian Times [Accra]. "UNHCR
Laments Over Kenyan Action."
News from Africa Watch [New
York]. 4 October 1993. Vol. 5, No. 1. "Seeking Refuge, Finding
Terror."
. 11 December 1990. "Kenya: Illegal
Expulsion of More than 1000 Refugees."
The Xinhua General Overseas News
Service. 23 July 1993. "Refugees in Kenya Sell Arms, Says Kenyan
Minister." (NEXIS)