State’s Response To Refugee Crisis: The Case Of Kenya’S Refugee Law, 1991 – 2016

Abstract

The focus of this dissertation was the articulation, implementation and impact of Kenya refugee law in the period between 1991 and 2016. Kenya has hosted refugees since independence mainly from neighbouring countries. It was due to this reason that the study set out to find how Kenya‘s legal system was crafted to deal with the refugees issues in the country and the impact of these law. The project relied on broad and definite objectives and adopted a conceptual framework that brought in a number of theories. Written secondary and primary written materials provided most of the study data. Gaps identified in the written literature were filled through oral interviews with people who were knowledgeable on refugee law in Kenya. The study found out that Kenya refugee law has gone through three major trajectories. First period between 1963 and 1991 encompassed the government being in charge of refugee management in the country and adopting a Laissez-faire attitude towards the refugees. Second phase was in the period, 1991 to 2006 where refugee camps were set up following the influx of refugees fleeing violence from various countries in Africa. Consequently, the Government of Kenya abandoned direct involvement with refugees and shifted the management of refugees to UNHCR. The third trajectory was in the period, 2007 to 2016 where the refugee law was enacted in 2006. The act came with a framework on the handling and management of refugees in the country. Significantly there was a rise of insecurity that was blamed on refugees. This prompted the Kenya Government to come up with a raft of measures, pronouncements and amendments to tame rising insecurity though most of them were challenged in court and found to be unconstitutional. There was also a significant negative shift in Kenyans attitudes towards refugees. They began to see them as competitors rather than people who needed assistance. The study has shown that the implementation of the Kenya refugee law to some extent was an affront to the constitution of Kenya and the International laws that Kenya is a signatory. The security inspired pronouncement and amendments culminated in the violation of refugee rights in Kenya. Kenyans similarly developed hatred and xenophobia towards refugees leading to what has been termed as securitization of the Kenyan asylum space.