there are personal accounts.46 Attention has been paid to the plight facing stateless persons in Africa47 in general and in particular Kenya. 48 Methodology and Objectives of the Study This study presents results of field work conducted in Kenya from August to November 2009. The research study has five main objectives: (a) To identify the causes of statelessness in Kenya; (b) To highlight and evaluate the main challenges confronting the confirmation and acquisition of citizenship in Kenya; (c) To review the difficulties facing stateless persons and persons at risk of statelessness living in Kenya; (d) To propose strategies for meeting the problems that stateless persons and persons at risk of statelessness experience; and (e) To identify stakeholders who could be engaged in finding solutions to the plight facing stateless persons and persons at risk of statelessness. The study considered as a person at risk of statelessness individuals who could not obtain an ID document and who consider themselves to be Kenyan and have a historical link with Kenya. Such individuals were identified in particular communities based on information drawn from previous research work and anecdotal evidences. The field work took place in five (of the eight) provinces in Kenya: Nairobi, Nyanza, Western, Coast and North Eastern. These were selected on the basis that, apart from Nairobi, they are border provinces. Discussions with Human Rights organizations suggested that there were a number of stateless persons or persons at risk of statelessness living in these provinces. Nairobi was chosen as it is the central administrative city in Kenya. Previous research also suggested that there are a number of stateless persons or persons at risk of statelessness living in this province.49 Eleven research assistants were recruited to assist with data collection in the study sites. The objectives of this study and methods of data collection were discussed with them during a one-day training session in Nairobi, which was run by the consultant, the KNCHR and the UNHCR. Ekuru Aukot, ‘Am I Stateless Because I am a Nomad?’, (2009) 32 Forced Migration Review 18. Refugees International, supra, note 42; Bronwen Manby, Citizenship Law in Africa: A Comparative Study (Open Society Institute: New York, 2009). 48 Abraham Sing’oei, ‘Promoting Citizenship in Kenya: The Nubian Case’, in Brad Blitz and Maureen Lynch, Statelessness and Benefits of Citizenship: A Comparative Study (Geneva: Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, 2009) at 37-49; Adam Adam, ‘Kenyan Nubians: Standing up to Statelessness’, (2009) 32 Forced Migration Review 19. 49 See Adam, supra, note 48; Sing’oei, supra, note 48. 46 47 8 OUT OF THE SHADOWS TOWARDS ENSURING THE RIGHTS OF STATELESS PERSONS AND PERSONS AT RISK OF STATELESSNESS IN KENYA