The issue of removing Kenyans whose fingerprints were captured in the refugee data base continues to generate debate from the political class, the latest being from Garissa Township MP Aden Duale. Duale said that he will seek an official statement from the CS interior on the progress made in the exercise.
In November 2019, the government launched a month-long exercise to remove the names of Kenyans from the UNCHR database who registered as refugees in order to receive free food assistance from aid agencies and eventual passage to the West.
In a ceremony attended by several local leaders among them, Garissa Governor Ali Korane was presided over by then-Interior Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) Patrick Ole Ntutu. The government then embarked on the exercise of vetting the affected.
Speaking at his residence when he joined the community of people with disability from Garissa Township where he distributed new different types of wheelchairs for their mobility, Duale said that the exercise has dragged on for far too long with no explanation coming from the government.
The former majority leader in the National Assembly alleged a politician from Garissa who was hell-bent on ensuring the exercise is not successfully completed was responsible for the delay.
“We have since learned that there is a local politician who is busy moving from one office to another in Nairobi to scuttle. He is corrupting the officers and telling them to make sure that the more than 20,000 ID cards are not produced,” said Duale.
This has affected individuals who on Monday come out to plead with the government to expedite the exercise saying that they have gone through ‘untold suffering’.
Daiman Farah, a 28 year old said that among the challenges she has been forced to leave with was not being able to secure her three children birth certificates since she doesn’t have an ID card.
“It has been hell on earth for me. Can you imagine I can’t even walk in town freely, leave alone travelling for fear of being arrested yet I am a Kenyan. Yes we I know I registered as a refugee sometimes back but it’s the prevailing circumstance that forced me to do so at that time,” she said.
Another victim, Feisal Sheikh said all that they were pleading from the government is to be de-registered from the database and subsequently be reintegrated back to the society so that their lives can back to normalcy.
Massod Farah, a 32 year old said that he has studied up to university securing a degree and yet cannot get a job because he lacks an ID card.
On Thursday, North Eastern regional commissioner Nicodemus Ndalana urged leaders from Garissa county to be patient over concerns that the exercise had dragged on for long.
Ndalana who was responding to the leaders worries during the commissioning of Liboi sub-county in Liboi today said that the exercise was on course and ‘soon there will be some positive news’.
Holugho MCA, Adow Mohamed, said he knows of several genuine cases in his area who have been unable to travel from the area because they lack an ID.
“I am appealing to the government not to give in to selfish political interest that will curtail that very important exercise. Surely how does it feel for a father who has spent school fees educating his children up to university level then the same is unable to get a job simply because he lacks that important document,” said Adow.
He added, “I would want to address the elephant in the room, stories of people saying that the numbers of community A will become more than those of community B once the exercise is finally concluded should neither be here nor there. They are Kenyans and should be treated as such because it is their constitutional right. This issue is very sensitive and should not be politicized by anyone for selfish interest,” he said.