A large proportion of refugees in Kenya are Somali. However, being a
Somali in Kenya can mean much more than that you are a refugee. The
North Eastern Province is inhabited by approximately two million ethnic
Somalis that are Kenyan citizens, and Eastleigh in Nairobi is often called Little Mogadishu for its Somali influence.
However, terrorism has struck Kenya on several occasions, notably in
Nairobi and Garissa. This has given way for operations like Operation
Ussalama, which targeted Somalis in discriminatory ways. Has the fear of
al Shabaab in Kenya resulted in a worseing of the treatment of Somalis
in Kenya? The world's biggest refugee camp, Dadaab, provides shelter
from war, but should the camp be closed, it would mean that refugees
would be forcefully repatriated to Somalia.
The political
fights between president Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga might not be
centered around the status of Somalis in Kenya, but how has the ethnic
group been treated?
In the panel:
- Andrew Ratanya Mukaria
- Umar Affey
- TBC
Welcome to Afrika Nå, Fellesrådet for Afrika's monthly seminar on African contemporary topics.