A high court judge has thwarted Kenya’s plans to shut the Dadaab camp for Somali refugees, the largest such complex in the world.
The government issued a directive last year to close the United Nations-run camp, situated in the east of the country, citing security concerns. It also wanted to repatriate the refugees — some who have been in the camp for more than 20 years — back to Somalia.
However, Judge John Mativo of the High Court in Nairobi ruled that the closure and repatriation plans are “arbitrary, discriminatory and undignifying and hence a violation of Articles 27 and 28 of the constitution and consequently the same is null and void.”
The government believes the camp, which is home to approximately 260,000 people, has been used as a base by the al-Shabaab terror group.
Human rights groups have applauded the court’s decision.
“After months of anxiety because of the camp closure deadline hanging over their heads, increasingly restricted asylum options and the recent US administration suspension of refugee resettlement, the court’s judgement offers Somali refugees a hope that they may still have a choice other than returning to insecure and drought-ridden Somalia,” said Laetitia Bader, Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch, in a statement.