- He said in 2022 some 186 Kenyans were deported, 378 in 2023 and in 2024 another 166 have been deported.
- Mudavadi affirmed that the government has a system in place to admit deportees.
Image: PCSP
Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has disclosed that at least 730 deported Kenyans have been admitted back into the country since 2022.
Speaking at the Senate, Mudavadi said the 730 were deported on various grounds.
He said in 2022 some 186 Kenyans were deported, 378 in 2023 and in 2024 another 166 have been deported.
"The State Department for Immigration and Citizen Services has informed that the following number of Kenyans were returned on various grounds since the year 2022," Mudavadi said.
The Prime CS who is also in-charge of the Foreign and Diaspora Affairs ministry was responding to a question by Kisumu Senator Tom Ojienda on how many people had been deported back to Kenya since 2010.
Mudavadi affirmed that the government has a system in place to admit deportees.
He said immigration officers at the ports of entry and exit are tasked with confirming that the deportees are Kenyan nationals before they are admitted into the country.
"The Citizenship and Immigration Act sets out the criteria or protocol for admission of such persons into the country.
"This includes the issuance of travel documents, verification of identity, confirmation of citizenship, right of entry and residence among others."
Mudavadi in the plenary session revealed that at least 316 Kenyans had died in the Gulf States, since 2022.
He said 58 Kenyans have died in Qatar, 51 in the United Arab Emirates, 25 in Iraq, another 10 in Bahrain and six in Kuwait.
Only Oman and Iran have not recorded any deaths by a Kenyan during the period.
The CS said there are 416,548 Kenyans there, but added that the number may be higher as some citizens do not register with their missions abroad.
Mudavadi further assured Kenyans working in the Diaspora of the government's efforts to safeguard rights and welfare.
Mudavadi said measures have been put in place to streamline and enforce bilateral agreements Kenya has signed with foreign nations on labour and employment.
He said the move is in line with the government’s initiative to safeguard the rights and welfare of Kenyans working in the Diaspora.
"We are working on a sessional paper that will be presented to Parliament soon, for the legislative arm to have an input on the policy, legal and institutional framework that support our bilateral negotiations," Mudavadi said.
He said collaboration between the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs and the Ministry of Labour is being scaled up to ensure Kenya competes favourably in the global labour migration market.
"I can give an example of the Labour migration agreement between Kenya and Germany that is close to completion being one of the more than 10 bilateral agreements we are processing as a government. This will create a system for skilled workers to move between the countries while protecting Kenyan workers' rights," he noted.