The High Court has Thursday declared the closure of Dadaab Refugee Camp unconstitutional.
Justice John Mativo said the directive by CS Interior Joseph Nkaissery and PS Karanja Kibicho was arbitrary, null and void.
Mativo also ruled that the decision by the government to collectively repatriate all refugees was wrong.
He said there was no evidence of the people’s involvement in crime, or a single arrest or conviction that has been sighted as proof of risk at the camp, or the presence of al Shabaab members.
Mativo said it was wrong to issue a blanket condemnation punishing all refugees.
“The government violated the law. Its decision ought to be examined. It was a drastic measure [that should have been taken] within the confines of the law,” he said.
He directed the state to restore status in regard to administration of refugee affairs.
On May 6 2016, Kibicho issued a directive by way of a press release entitled “Government Statement on Refugees and closure of camps”.
