Saturday, May 21, 2016
By OLIVER MATHENGE @olivermathenge
President Uhuru Kenyatta yesterday held a meeting with members of the United Nations Security Council at State House, Nairobi.
He is understood to have used the meeting to explain the plan to close the Dadaab refugee camp, reiterating that Kenya has already made a decision. Uhuru told the UN team the decision to close the camp was “driven by national interests” and Kenya is not about to change.
He and the diplomats from the 15–member Security Council held lengthy discussions on the situation in Somalia. The members were led by their current president, who is also the Egyptian envoy to the UN, Ambassador Alexis Lamek.
They discussed the work of the African Union Mission in Somalia, whose troop contributing countries are Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Sierra Leone. “Kenya’s decision to close the camp was also discussed at length,” State House said, without giving details.
However, a statement by spokesman Manoah Esipisu on Thursday night hinted that the President would give the UN delegation the details of the plan to close the camp.
In his statement, Esipisu said the Interior ministry has set up a 14–member National Task Force on Repatriation of Refugees.
“The role of the task force is to develop modalities, timelines and costs for the repatriation of refugees in Kenya, develop refugee management and control strategies during the period of repatriation as well as a verification criterion for refugees that will feed into a comprehensive database,” Esipisu said.
The meeting came a day after UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon called Uhuru and urged him to reconsider closing the camp. “The secretary general assured Uhuru that he appreciates the enormous task and responsibility involved in hosting large numbers of refugees, amidst daunting security challenges,” a statement from the UN on Wednesday said.
On May 6, Kenya announced it will close the camp and ensure all the refugees return to their home countries. “There comes a time when we must think primarily about the security of our people. Ladies and gentlemen, that time is now,” Interior CS Joseph Nkaissery said.
On Amisom, Uhuru is understood to have decried the international community’s decision to keep off, leaving African countries to shoulder the burden. “Whereas the continent is footing the bill of stabilising Somalia by blood and flesh, it is disheartening that the international community is even contemplating reducing support to Amisom,” Esipisu said.