STATELESSNESS AND CITIZENSHIP IN THE EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY constitution had been violated; the order given was for the Ministry of Immigration and NRB to consider fresh applications.213 There have been regular calls for Somalis staying illegally in Kenya (that is, without refugee registration) to be expelled; Somali Kenyans have generally been caught up in these heightened security measures.214 The calls for action against Somali immigrants intensified following the 1998 bombing of the US embassy in Nairobi and subsequent terrorist incidents. In 2013, following the Westgate shopping mall terrorist attack, the government declared its intention to close the Dadaab refugee camp, alleged to be a breeding ground for recruitment to Al Shabaab.215 In November 2013, Kenya, Somalia and UNHCR signed a tripartite agreement for the return of refugees to Somalia; though the agreement stressed that repatriation should be voluntary, there was no matching provision for any to have permanent settlement in Kenya.216 The Refugees Act was amended to restrict the “permitted number of refugees and asylum seekers in Kenya” to 150,000 people.217 In February 2017, the High Court ruled that the decision to close the camp was unconstitutional.218 The situation of the Somali refugees is difficult to resolve, and highly politically sensitive in Kenya, given the large numbers involved and the ongoing instability in Somalia. In reality, most are not likely to “return” voluntarily within any plausible timeframe. In recognition of this situation, in June 2016 opposition leader Raila Odinga proposed granting long-term Somali refugees citizenship.219 At least 40,500 Somali Kenyans living within 50 kilometres of the Dadaab camp are believed to hold refugee ration cards, something that has smoothed relationships between the refugees and the host communities, but increases the confusion over who is a Kenyan citizen.220 Local authorities—largely Somali-Kenyan—put the number of Kenyans with refugee registration at up to 100,000.221 Those adults who themselves have Kenyan identity cards and also obtained refugee ration cards are under less threat from the planned closure of Dadaab. However, their children are finding, as they turn 18 and are required to obtain a national identity card, that they cannot do so because, on producing one of their parents’ identity card as required, a check is carried out and the double registration is discovered. Therefore they have been denied Kenyan documents, including late registration of birth.222 The NRB led a government task force investigation into this problem, which recommended the recognition as Kenyan of those with double registration.223 In June 2016, a process of sorting out the Kenyan citizens from the refugees was initiated, potentially requiring a presidential 213 Muslims for Human Rights (Muhuri) on behalf of 40 others v Minister for Immigration & 5 others, Constitutional Petition No. 50 of 2011, Judgment of 17 October 2017. 214 See, among many other reports, “Criminal Reprisals: Kenyan Police and Military Abuses against Ethnic Somalis”, Human Rights Watch, 4 May 2012; "‘You Are All Terrorists’: Kenyan Police Abuse of Refugees in Nairobi, Human Rights Watch, 29 May 2013; “Kenya: Mass Deportation of Somalis, 359 Deported Without Access to Lawyers, Courts, UN Refugee Agency”, Human Rights Watch 23 May 2014; “Kenya: Somalis scapegoated in counter-terror crackdown”, Amnesty International, 27 May 2014. 215 See Communiqué of the AU Peace and Security Council 590th meeting, 14 April 2016, PSC/PR/COMM.(DXC). 216 Tripartite Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Kenya, the Government of the Federal Republic of Somalia and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, governing the voluntary repatriation of Somali refugees living in Kenya, 2013. 217 The Security Laws (Amendment) Act, 2014, Sections 45-48, amending Act No. 13 of 2006. 218 Kenya National Commission on Human Rights & another v Attorney General & 3 others [2017] eKLR. 219 “Give Daadab refugees Kenyan citizenship, Raila tells gov’t”, The Citizen (Nairobi), 5 June 2016. 220 In Search of Protection and Livelihoods: Socio-economic and Environmental Impacts of Dadaab Refugee Camps on Host Communities, Republic of Kenya, Royal Danish Embassy, Royal Norwegian Embassy, September 2010. 221 Stephen Astariko, “100,000 residents in Dadaab refugee database ask for IDs”, The Star (Nairobi), 18 February 2016; see also Joshua Masinde, “As the world’s largest refugee camp closes, some Kenyans struggle to prove they belong in Kenya”, Quartz Africa, 27 June 2016. 222 Interviews, Nairobi, June 2016. 223 Interview, Director of NRB, June 2016. See also, “Kenya: Government to ensure youths appearing as refugees get IDs”, Hivisasa, 17 December 2015. 54 UNHCR / September 2018