A few days after the government announced its intentions to close down Kakuma and Daadab refugee camps, the Garissa County government has asked for a review of that decision.
Speaking from his office Garissa County Governor Nathif Jama said: “The government should instead grant the refugees’ citizenship. Sending them to Somalia will only escalate insecurity in the country and its neighbours,” said Jama.
The governor said that leaders from the county were not consulted over the matter, adding that refugees who have been born in Kenya should be vetted and granted citizenship.
“It is not rational to send people born and brought up in the country over the past 25 years to a country they barely understood,” he adds.
According to KBC radio, last week, the government announced plans to close down the Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps as soon as possible, the move the government says has been necessitated by the continuous security threats the country gets itself in by hosting refugees.
“We want to let the government know that the decision has not gone down well with Garissa government who now wants the government to reconsider the decision since this will lead to humanitarian crisis,” he said.