Once considered a safe haven for refugees, Kenya is slowly becoming a hostile place for some seeking protection from political persecution and war, rights groups say.
Their concerns come after masked men kidnapped four Turkish refugees at gunpoint in the capital Nairobi last month – the latest in a series of such cases in the East African state.
Kenyan authorities say the four, recognized as refugees by the UN, were deported at the request of the Turkish government, which wants to charge them with treason.
Critics accuse Kenya of abandoning a centuries-old legal principle of “non-refoulement”, which prevents the forced return of people to countries where they could face persecution.
This has tarnished Kenya’s reputation, with local newspaper Daily Nation reporting that the heads of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Britain’s foreign intelligence service MI6 – William Burns and Richard Moore respectively – had raised the issue of the deportations during their visit to President William Ruto. to Nairobi at the end of last month.
Kenyan Refugee Commissioner John Burugu declined to comment on the deportations, but Korir Sing’oei, a senior Foreign Ministry official, highlighted the dilemma facing the government when he said they had to make a “crucial balancing of interests for the greater good had to perform.
“Harboring the subversive elements accused of engaging in activities detrimental to a friendly country posed both a diplomatic and humanitarian dilemma for Kenya,” he added.
Ultimately, realpolitik prevailed, with Kenya unwilling to jeopardize closer ties with Turkey, where the two countries signed a military cooperation agreement in July.
Compared to its neighbors, Kenya has enjoyed years of peace and stability, making it a prime destination for refugees and asylum seekers from several conflict-affected or authoritarian countries in the region, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Rwanda and South Africa. Sudan.
Kenya, East Africa’s largest economy, is home to more than 800,000 refugees, according to Burugu.
But rights groups fear the country has become increasingly unsafe in recent years for those fleeing persecution in their home countries.
Kenyan police have also been repeatedly accused of colluding with foreign security services to arrest people they consider a threat.
The latest example of this came when the country was accused of being complicit – as the Ugandan newspaper Observer put it – in the “brutal cross-border kidnappings” of 36 Ugandan opposition supporters in July.
According to their lawyers, the group had traveled to the Kenyan city of Kisumu for training, but were deported to Uganda without following proper legal channels such as deportation orders or extradition requests.
Ugandan police accused the suspects of being “involved in covert activities suspected of being subversive and attracting the attention of Kenyan security forces”.
But the group denied any wrongdoing through their lawyer.
“By allowing Ugandan security agents to enter Kenya and effectively kidnap these individuals, Kenya has failed in its duty to protect the freedom and well-being of all people within its territory, regardless of their nationality or political affiliations,” the Observer said in an editorial. .
Last May, Rwandan human rights defender Yusuf Ahmed Gasana was kidnapped from his home in Nairobi by unknown persons and has not been seen since.
Sources told Gasana’s family that he was being held in a secret detention facility in Rwanda, along with several other people who had yet to be charged.
Other notable cases include:
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South Sudanese refugee Mabior Awikjok Bakwho was kidnapped in Nairobi last February by men allegedly wearing Kenyan police uniforms. A critic of the government, he is now in arbitrary detention in his home country.
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Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharifwho was shot dead by police outside Nairobi in October 2022, two months after seeking safety in Kenya after fleeing Pakistan. According to the police, there was a case of mistaken identity.
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Nnamdi Kanua separatist leader from Nigeria, who he says was arrested at a Kenyan airport in 2021 and handed over to Nigerian intelligence services. He is now on trial on charges of terrorism and sedition. Both governments denied involvement in his arrest.
For those seeking refuge in Kenya, it is frightening.
“I have been active on social media for longer because of threats from all sides,” a Rwandan refugee who was critical of the Rwandan government and had lived in Kenya for more than a decade, told the BBC.
The 40-year-old believes authorities in Kenya are helping Rwandan officials track him down.
“Going back home is not an option for me and my family, but we live here in constant fear,” he said.
“I’m afraid it’s a huge possibility to be approached by the people we’re fleeing from,” the refugee added.
Due to the growing threat, more than 3,000 refugees and asylum seekers are currently living under the protection of a non-governmental organization, the Refugee Consortium of Kenya (RCK).
The fear of being arrested, charged or extradited is one of the reasons they had turned to the RCK for help, the organization’s lead researcher, Shadrack Kuyoh, told the BBC.
He said the deportation of refugees violates Kenya’s refugee law, which aims to ensure they “are not returned to areas where they may be harmed.”
The fate of Turkish nationals since their deportation remains unclear.
The four are believed to be part of the Gülen movement, named after Turkish Muslim cleric Fethullah Gülen, who led schools in Kenya and other parts of the world.
Their deportation came shortly after Gülen, who was accused by Turkey of plotting a failed coup in 2016, died, suggesting Turkey has exploited his death to crack down on his supporters.
Interfaith Council of Kenya chairman Bishop Willybard Kitogho Lagho described the four as “peace-loving people” involved in humanitarian work.
“Their abductions underline growing concerns for the safety of all refugees and asylum seekers in Kenya,” he said.
Kenyan foreign policy analyst Edgar Githua said the government should have handed them over to the UN refugee agency to protect itself from criticism.
“Kenya has tarnished its international image. This will be quoted for a long time. We cannot undo what we have done,” he said.
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