- Some refugees have been camping opposite UNHCR for almost an year
- Their children are taken away from them for without their consent.
Image: VICTOR IMBOTO
Writhing in pain, complaining of broken ribs,bleeding gums and scars on their faces, they tell tales of agony since setting foot in Kenya.
At just 17 years old, Mary* survived tribal clashes in her home country only to come and face more brutality, attempted rape and homelessness from those mandated to protect her.
The single mother of 12 narrates how she fled from Minembwe village, Democratic Republic of Congo after war broke between the Banyamulenge and Pembe communities in late 2017.
Start of hardships
"We arrived in Kenya through the help of good Samaritans but we had no where to go. We managed to get shelter at a local church but life was not as smooth as we thought," she said.
She says that the money she received from Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society(HIAS) was not enough to cater for her and her 12 children who eventually got hospitalized due to malnutrition.
"I managed to get a house help job in Kangemi, Kiambu County but after a few months, my employer attempted to rape me so I fled to Shauri Moyo refugee camp, where we were later transferred to Kakuma refugee camp." said Mary.
Later on in June 2018, they were ruthlessly kicked out of Kakuma. "The police at Kakuma beat us mercilessly, not sparing anyone be it pregnant women, the elderly or the young children." she said.
Through the help of good Samaritans, Mary and her children managed to arrive in Nairobi and camped outside the Westlands United Nations High commission for Refugees(UNHCR) office. She counts six months of camping outside UNHCR.
Loss of family
For Moses*, leaving the tribal fueled war of DRC in 2004 seemed like the best option for him, his two wives and five children considering one of the wives was pregnant with his sixth child.
"The problem started when the people responsible for the clashes back at DRC came to fight us at Bidibidi camp in Uganda," he said.
Moses says that his pregnant wife lost the child during this period before they fled toKakuma where the tribalists were still on their necks.
"In Kakuma, a UNHCR official asked me for Sh100,000 so that he could help us get to Nairobi but we were fortunate to get help from some police officers who helped us get to Westlands UNHCR offices," he said.
He also said that one his daughters died during the journey due to malnutrition.
"My family and I spent several nights under the Waiyaki way foot bridge and during that period, my eight year old daughter was raped but UNHCR did not help in any way. We were helped at Westlands Police station" he said.
Moses says that his 12 year old daughter later managed to acquire a cleaning job at Kangemi, Kiambu county in October 2016.They therefore relocated to Kangemi where they were provided with shelter by his daughter’s employee.
However, in 2018 his then fourteen year old daughter was raped by her employer and even after reporting it to the Kabete police station, no action was taken.
“After she was raped, we found out that she fell pregnant,” he said.
"The officers on duty that night took a sh20,000 bribe from the rapist and the case was closed,” he added.
Instead, he was arrested together with his family and charged as undocumented immigrants although he had applied for an Alien Identification Card in 2016 which he has not acquired yet.
After being released, three of his children went missing and the police failed to confirm their whereabouts.
After she was raped, we found out that she fell pregnant. The officers on duty that night took a sh20,000 bribe from the rapist and the case was closedMoses
“It’s now been four months and I still have no idea where my children are and whether or not they are alive or dead,” he said.
Desperate measures
The over 200 refugees who have been camping have been camping at UNHCR offices for almost an year, have been depending on help from churches, mosques or acting as beggars for survival.
According to Abdul, a sixteen year old refugee, they not only need financial assistance from the Kenyan government, but they also need child protection services.
The teenager tells the Star some of them have now turned into sex work for a living, others going to the extent of being homosexual sex workers since 'its paying'.
"We are exposed to criminal and sexual activities at an early age, which is dangerous. We are children and we have rights,” he said.
Racism
Some of the refugees living outside UNHCR, claim that they had already settled in Kenya but they are now spending nights outside due to racism issues, they experienced in Kenya.
Janet a single mother of six children, says that she left Burundi for Kenya due to tribal wars early 2016 and managed to get all the necessary documentation that enabled her to settle down in Kenya.
In February 2018, through the help of a good Samaritan, she set up a small kiosk in Kabiria area, satellite Nairobi.
She says her business was moving along well but it was later demolished by her Kenyan work mates.
"They realized that my business was doing better than theirs, so they destroyed my kiosk claiming that I was not Kenyan and that I do not have a say in Kenya,” she said.
Janet told the star that when she filed the case in court she was the one who ended up getting arrested.
She was forced to relocate from Satellite due to insecurity and her children were taken from her in December 2018 after she was released.
"It’s been four months since I started camping outside these offices without knowing the whereabouts of my children. I am here because I was chased away by the Kenyans I was working with," she said.
The refugees have been protesting since 6th May,seeking an audience with UNHCR country representative and commissioner to Kenya’s Refugee Affairs Secretariat.
They also complained of being tossed from one agency to another by both Refugee Affairs Secretariat and UNHCR officers and being beaten up by G4S police on orders from UNHCR.
UNHCR's view
According to UNHCR Kenya’s Representative Fathiaa Abdalla, their efforts as the UNHCR body to come to dialogue with the refugees so as to find a solution failed.
“We have not managed to find a solution since the refugees have been threatening and and abusing our guards and staff, also preventing vehicles from getting into the office.” she said.
Fathiaa told the star that in order to find a solution on refugees sufferings, they will have to work together in a consistent manner with the law.
“We recognize that refugees have a right to demonstrate, but camping outside our offices is against the Kenyan law.” she added.
UNHCR Head of Risk Management Robert Hurt, said that there are specific mechanisms which are available for refugees to report any complains or allegations of fraud, exploitation and corruption.
“The issues raised will go through the inspector general’s office,an independent body that ensures that all serious concerns are investigated.” he said.
He also added that everything that concerns exploitation of refugees is considered very serious.
The UNHCR body hope that the situation at hand will not deteriorate and promised to attend to the refugees needs.