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{
    "id": 707389,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/707389/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 111,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Hon. Wandayi",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2960,
        "legal_name": "James Opiyo Wandayi",
        "slug": "james-opiyo-wandayi"
    },
    "content": "Refugees do not just happen, they are a consequence of instability and civil strife in various countries. The matter of instability of nations is not a matter that is confined to specific parts of the world or countries. It is a matter which can happen anywhere as history has proved. This country has borne the brunt of the menace of refugees for a long time. This is because of the fact that our neighbouring countries have had issues within their territories and that has necessitated and resulted into their citizens leaving their countries and crossing over in our country. Hon. Deputy Speaker, as a country, we are bound by international conventions and laws that we have signed. The UN itself saw it fit to create a fully fledged commission in charge of refugees. That is why we have the UNHCR and the UN High Commission. Kenya has played a key role in addressing the plight of the refugees who have continued to cross over to our country from time to time, from the countries that surround us. I am happy that the enactment of this Bill will enable us to have a structured way of managing this very vital matter. As I said earlier, civil conflicts happen. You cannot predict when they will happen, where they will happen and how they will happen. We must, therefore, be prepared as a country to deal with the consequences of civil conflicts from within or without. In the recent past, we have had problems regarding the manner in which our Government has handled refugees. It is also unfortunate that the majority of the refugees that we have had in this country are of Somali origin. We know what happened in Somalia since the fall of President Siad Barre in the early 1990s. As a country, 2013 was our lowest level in the manner we treated the matter of refugees. There is a mindset which has got into the institution of Government in this country. It is has become fashionable to engage in ethnic profiling of people when dealing with refugee matters. What happened in 2013 was unfortunate. There was a blatant abuse of the international law in as far as the treatment of refugees is concerned. Genuine Kenyan citizens of Somali origin were rounded up and locked up in what would essentially amount to concentration camps at Kasarani Stadium. It was the first time we saw Kenyan citizens being profiled and detained unlawfully in a concentration camp. It was a spectacle to see Kenyan citizens being caged under the guise of fighting terrorism. This is something that will remain a bloat on the image of the Jubilee Administration – that the Government profiled a whole community simply because they were Somalis and because they were the majority of the refugees at Dadaab or Kakuma Refugee Camps or wherever was unfair. They were rounded up and detained in a concentration camp. That reminds me of the things that happened during the Second World War. It is something which is unforgivable. I feel very sorry for my Somali brothers and sisters. In the fullness of time, those who are responsible for abuse of human rights will have to face the full force of the law. There has also been the habit of people in Government profiting from the refugee industry. Some people have continued to profit through extortion and all sorts of malpractices. This is a practice which I believe the enactment of this Bill will bring to a stop so that we do not use the very sad matter of refugees to benefit a few individuals."
}