Lack of legal information on refugees and asylum seekers has led to many refugees being wrongfully arrested and prosecuted, an advocacy officer has said.

Fredrick Koome, an advocacy and development programs officer at the Refugee Consortium of Kenya said that Thika town is a transit point for most refugees travelling from Dadaab refugee camp through Garissa to Nairobi and most of them were arrested in Thika for wrong reasons.
Speaking during a stakeholders’ sensitization workshop in Thika Thursday, Koome said that at times, the refugees get arrested in Thika and you find that the charges preferred against them were incorrect.
“At times, you find that the bonafide refugees are travelling without the necessary documentation and they are charged with unlawful presence instead of residing outside designated areas,” explained Koome.
He said that they have identified a gap in the information on refugee and asylum seekers and that is why they were trying to address it by conducting capacity building for all stakeholders including government officials; police, magistrates, probation officers, children officers, and officers from the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) and witness protection unit.
“We are also training refugees on the laws that protect them and what is expected of them,” added Koome saying that they are conducting the trainings in Thika and Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
He explained that there were information gaps even within the members of the public as there are people who say that refugees are not to be in the country anymore because the government had earlier issued a directive on the same.
“Others will talk about the capping of refugees at 150, 000 but they are not aware that the courts already declared that particular section of the security law amendment as unconstitutional,” he said.
Koome said that the trainings being done in collaboration with the International Rescue Committee, UNHCR, Kituo cha Sheria and the Refugee affairs secretariat aim to bring about a more synergized working relations between all partners in refugees matters besides enhancing protection of the refugees and asylum seekers.

SOURCE: Kenya News Agency