Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet today received 26 assorted vehicles from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) to aide in the repatriation process of remaining Somali refugee from Dadaab and Kakuma Refugee Camps.
The vehicles were handed over to Boinnet by the UNHCR Country Representative Raouf Mazou at CID Training School in Nairobi.
“There are twenty six vehicles received today and ten of them have been sent out to the field because of urgent need. They will help us boast our mobility very significantly in Kakuma and Dadaab even in repatriation process.” Boinnet said.
He said more police officers will be deployed in the Northern Kenya region as the government has been doing progressively since 2013.
However, the IG steered clear to commit whether the curfew imposed in Mandera that ends midnight will be extended or not.
“As you all know that is the mandate of the Cabinet Secretary Interior Ministry and you will be hearing from him very soon.” Boinnet said.
The voluntary repatriation, which started in 2013, has so far seen over 60,000 Somali refugees return to Somalia. During the same period only about 6,000 Somali refugees have been resettled to other countries.
The government cleared all double registrations of refugees who have irregularly registred as Kenyans and Kenyans who have registered as refugee.
Consequently, all non-Somali refugees are gradually being relocated to other UNHCR camps followed the relocation of Somali refugees to third countries is expected to be complete.
Complete repatriation of Somali refugees from Dadaab to Somalia is expected to be the final phase.
In November last year, the Kenyan government has extended the planned closure of Dadaab refugee complex by six months following a request by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) commissioner Filippo Grandi.
The extension lapses in May this year.
Ambassador Mohammed Affey is the UN special envoy on the Somalia refugee situation
