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Kenya + 3 more

281 refugees transferred to camps

Some 281 refugees have been taken back to their camps from Nairobi in the last three days, the Ministry of Interior and National Coordination has said.

The ministry’s director of communication Mwenda Njoka said this was in line with government policy to have refugees settled only in gazette refugee camps.

The refugees who were netted during the ongoing security operation in Nairobi and screened at Safaricom Stadium in Kasarani were taken to Dadaab and Kakuma camps.

“The first group of 111 refugees was transported from Kasarani Sports Ground on Thursday evening in a ceremony witnessed by Cabinet Secretary for Interior and Coordination of National Government Mr Joseph Ole Lenku,” the statement said.

(Read: 100 more refugees relocated to camps)

The refugees were transported in four buses that were provided by the government.

The second group comprising of 170 refugees left Nairobi from on Friday evening in six buses.

Mr Lenku, was accompanied by senior officials from the Ministry of Interior at Kasarani on Friday evening to see off the second group.

The ministry said the directive requiring refugees to be settled strictly in gazette refugee camps issued on March 25 conforms to local and international laws governing refugee affairs.

The gazettement of designated areas for holding refugees was done as per Section 16(2) of the Refugee Act 2006 and Article 2 of the 1951 Geneva Convention which states; “Every refugee has duties to the country in which he finds himself and which require in particular that he conform to its laws and regulations as well as to measures taken for the maintenance of public order.”

The ministry said contrary to the perception created in some quarters, the directive was not targeting particular groups of refugees but all refugees and asylum seekers in Kenya.

Kenya hosts more than 600,000 refugees and asylum seekers from over 10 countries.