Last updated: March 2009

Kenya Immigration Detention Profile

Kenya is a major destination country for migrants and refugees in the Horn of Africa. While many refugees settle in urban areas, the country has large refugee camps in Dadaab and Kakuma.[1] Kenya is also a major source and transit county for migrants and asylum seekers intending to travel to South Africa. According to one “conservative” estimate, some 1,000 people are placed in immigration detention annually.[2]

The 2011 Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act regulates the country’s immigration policy. Under the Act, migrants who unlawfully enter or remain in Kenya have committed a criminal offence, punishable by a fine of up to USD 5,500 and/or imprisonment of up to three years. Newly arrived asylum-seekers are excluded from this provision in the Act.[3]

The Act also provides that irregular migrants can be detained in immigration holding facilities, prisons, or in general police custody depending on where they are apprehended.[4]  One issue with Kenya’s immigration-related detention practices is that migrants are often detained multiple times (“re-detention”), in part because of the non-existence of a deportation or repatriation system. Migrants detained in Kenya’s prisons face poor conditions, including assault, sexual abuse, limited legal assistance, and a poor diet. However, the government does permit local human rights groups and consular representatives to visit the prisons.[5]

In recent years, the Kenyan government has conducted a series of “anti-terror” operations that have resulted in the arrest and detention of large numbers of foreigners. These operations are partially motivated by an increase in attacks occurring within the country. During an operation in April 2014, more than 4,000 foreigners were arrested and detained, the majority of whom were refugees and asylum seekers. Amnesty International (AI) reported that during the operation, payment was demanded from detainees in order to be released. Somali refugees told AI that they faced “beatings and unlawful detention at the hands of security forces conducting house-to-house searches in predominantly Somali neighbourhoods.” Some of the detainees were taken to the Kasarani football stadium, where they were held in a form of ad hoc detention as their documents were checked.[6]

Increasing numbers of cross-border attacks by the Somalia-based Al Shabaab have spurred a number of additional new security measures in Kenya that make migrant and refugees vulnerable to arrest and detention. For instance, the government plans to construct a new road and additional border crossings and barriers along its border with Somalia.[7]

Migrant children have also been detained during security raids. The Integrated Regional Information Network estimates that during the April 2014 operation about 300 children, including babies, were separated from their parents, who had also been arrested during security operations.[8] Many children were held in overcrowded cells with men and women.[9]

As of March 2015, Kenya hosted more than 580,000 registered refugees and asylum seekers, mainly from Somalia, South Sudan, and Ethiopia.[10] Somalis account for more than 70 percent of refugee and asylum seekers in Kenya, and the community has faced discrimination, including government calls for them to return to Somalia despite the on-going conflict and threat of persecution in that country.[11]

Under Kenya’s Refugee Act 2006, asylum-seekers have 30 days to register after crossing into Kenya. A lack of documentation and difficulty in determining the date of crossing can sometimes lead to the arrest of asylum seekers. In addition, the Refugee Act provides refugees with a right to a fair hearing. However, due to language barriers and a lack of knowledge on the part of law enforcement officers, the rights provided for are largely ignored.[12] There have also been numerous reports of police and other officials confiscating refugee documents, leaving refugees vulnerable to detention.[13]

The Kenyan government has issued multiple directives requiring refugees to leave urban areas and move to camps. Since the issuance of a directive in December 2012, harassment of refugees by law enforcement officers in urban areas has reportedly increased dramatically. Such harassment includes arbitrary arrests and illegal detention.[14] According to the Refugee Consortium of Kenya, harassment of refugees in the form of abuse and violence has been well documented.[15]