Kenyan citizens who fled to Uganda during the 2007-2008 post-election violence have accused the Kenyan government of failing to fulfill an agreement it signed with them to resettle them back into the country.

The former refugees, who have been lying outside Parliament since last Tuesday, want the government to have the signed memorandum of understanding followed to the letter.

Through their spokesperson and national treasurer Stephen Maina Mwangi, they said they do not intend to fight the government but are only following up the agreement that was reached for them to start their lives afresh in their home country.

“We are not seeking compensation but following up on the broken promise of the agreement that saw us return, we are here because this is one arm of the government and we hope that parliamentarians will help our voices to be heard,” Mr Mwangi said.

Last year, the Department of Refugee Affairs agreed with Ugandan authorities and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) to help bring back to the country about 2,000 Kenyans.

The refugees had been living in Uganda in a camp in Kiryandogo refugee settlement in Masindi District for seven years.

But following talks on resettlement, UNHCR facilitated their transportation from Kiryandogo to Kenya while the Ugandan government provided the security.

The Kenyan government was to receive them from the border, give them about Sh50,000 cash to start life, resettle them and provide them with food for two years among other things.

SENT AWAY

They, however, claim that they were sent away from their tents in Malava in May 17, 2015 and asked to board vehicles which were to ferry them their native homes.

According to the group’s chairperson Ms Ruth Irungu, though they all dispersed, their leaders were to follow up with the government to see to it that the agreement is fulfilled.