MPs have expressed concern over ‘mistreatment’ of communities hosting thousands of refugees at Kakuma in Turkana County.
The members of the National Assembly’s Regional Integration Committee spoke after visiting the refugee camp for a fact-finding mission.
“Our finding is that greater attention has been given to the refugees than the host communities. That is what we established,” chairman Peter Lochakapong said.
He said some hosting communities feel sidelined and are contemplating registering themselves as refugees to enjoy some privileges and services.
Lochakapong said the committee heard that the host communities for refugees are deprived of basic needs.
The residents complained about limited access to essential services such as clean water, healthcare and education
“Out of the 28 boreholes that have been done by UNHCR, only one is available for use by the host community,” he said.
Residents lamented that UNHCR reneged on the agreement to treat them and the refugees equally.
“The host community is still crying and saying they have been given a raw deal. Most of the social amenities are targeting refugees,” Lochakapong said.
The residents said up-to 90 per cent of the scholarships given by UNHCR go to refugees.
Kakuma hosts more than 320,000 refugees from across the world.
Most of them come from as far as Afghanistan.
However, a majority of the refugees come from Sudan and Ethiopia.
“The refugees have outnumbered the locals in terms of population. There are about 230,000 locals,” he said.
Lochakapong said the planned integration has largely failed with many refugees still enjoying enhanced services.
During the tour, he said aid efforts seemed to focus more on refugees than on the host community.
The two-day visit aimed to evaluate the impact, challenges and progress associated with the presence of refugees on the host community since the establishment of Kakuma camp in 1990.
During their visit, the committee held a meeting with UNHCR officials, toured the department of refugee services and visited key sites including the food distribution centre and reception facilities.
They also reviewed the refugee vetting and registration process.
“There are many issues that have been brought out by the residents here. There seems to be discrimination on issuing of scholarships between refugees and host community, an issue that UNHCR should resolve,” Lochakapong said.
“Host communities are also saying they have been marginalised on employment opportunities.”
He said there is need for the department to absorb people who have been working on contract between 10-15 years.
The tour concluded with a community forum held at the Turkana West National Government Constituencies Development Fund office, which provided a platform for the host community to voice concerns.
He highlighted specific issues, such as environmental degradation, and said while 28 boreholes had been drilled to serve the refugee population, only one served the host community.
Lochakapong also mentioned perceived discrimination in scholarship opportunities, where the host community reportedly received limited support.
MPs Peter Nabulindo (Matungu) and Salah Yakub (Fafi) expressed frustration with what they described as favouritism.
They called for fair distribution of
food aid and cash.