Kenya is a major destination and transit country for migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers, as well as one of Africa’s largest refugee-hosting countries. However, growing efforts to securitise migration have left irregular arrivals or those in the country without regular documentation increasingly vulnerable to arrest and detention. The country does not operate dedicated immigration detention facilities; instead, migrants are routinely held in police stations and prisons.
In a joint submission to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Committee), the Global Detention Project (GDP) and our Kenyan partner, Refugee Consortium of Kenya, highlight the particular risks faced by migrant, refugee, and asylum-seeking women within this system. Amongst our concerns:
- Broad powers to detain: The Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act provides broad powers to detain foreign nationals. It treats irregular entry and stay, as well as the entry of anyone deemed inadmissible (which includes vague categories such as persons “declared inadmissible on grounds of national security or national interest”), as criminal offences.
- No statutory limit on immigration detention: Domestic legislation does not establish a maximum period for immigration detention, creating a risk of prolonged or potentially indefinite detention.
- Lack of gender-sensitive safeguards: Kenyan law contains no explicit safeguards against the detention of particularly vulnerable groups, including pregnant and nursing women, survivors of gender-based violence, women seeking asylum, and children.
- Risk of refoulement: National legislation permits exceptions to the principle of non-refoulement on grounds of public morality, raising concerns about the protection afforded to individuals at risk of persecution or other serious harm.
- Use of prisons and police stations: Since 2024, approximately 50 prisons and police stations have reportedly been used to detain non-nationals, including in Nairobi and Mombasa and along key migration routes. These facilities are not designed for immigration detention and can expose women to heightened risks of gender-based violence, exploitation, inadequate healthcare—including sexual and reproductive healthcare—and violations of privacy and dignity.
- Lack of transparency: Kenyan authorities do not publicly release information regarding how many migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers are detained–or the location or duration of their detention–raising serious transparency and accountability concerns.
- Barriers to legal assistance: Although the Citizenship and Immigration Act provides for judicial review of detention orders, access to this remedy is severely constrained in practice. Lawyers and civil society organisations may be unable to locate detainees, preventing them from accessing legal assistance and effectively participating in judicial proceedings within the applicable timeframe.
This submission was made at the State Report stage, ahead of CEDAW’s review of Kenya in its upcoming 93rd Session (October 2026).
