Victory for Kenyans Denied Citizenship
Published: 26/Feb/2025
Source: Human Rights Watch
Constitutional Court Ruling on Identity System Affects Tens of Thousands
- The High Court in Garissa, Kenya ruled on January 21 in favor of thousands of ethnic Somali Kenyan nationals whose rights were violated by the refusal to deregister them from the refugee database and issue them Kenyan ID cards even though they were Kenyans.
- Tens of thousands of Kenyan Somalis who were incorrectly registered as refugees were left de facto stateless, unable to open a bank account, get a driver’s license, or access government benefits.
- The Kenyan government, beyond implementing the court’s orders, should ensure that people are able to access all services to which they are entitled as citizens without discrimination.
(Nairobi, February 26, 2025) – The High Court in Garissa, Kenya ruled on January 21, 2025, in favor of thousands of Kenyan nationals whose nationality and citizenship rights were violated based on incorrect data that designated them as refugees instead of Kenyan citizens, Human Rights Watch and Haki na Sheria said today.
The registration of these Kenyan Somalis led to them being denied access to education, work, and passports. The ruling, which orders the Kenyan government to issue nationality documents to the applicants of the case, is an important step for justice in the mistreatment of these applicants by the government and shows the need for robust safeguards and oversight of digital identity systems.
“The court’s finding that the Kenyan government violated the rights of thousands of Kenyans by denying them citizenship for years is a positive step,” said Yussuf Bashir, executive director of Haki na Sheria (“Justice and Law” in Swahili), which defends the rights of marginalized northern communities in Kenya. “It should now be followed by concrete remedial actions for all those affected, not just the applicants in this case.”
The court ruled in favor of the applicants and ordered the government to remove from the refugee database within 60 days the names of Kenyans incorrectly registered who have been screened, vetted, cleared, and declared to be Kenyan citizens. The court also ordered the government to collaborate with relevant agencies to activate or reactivate vetting committees to start new vetting processes within six months for other Kenyans facing the same predicament.
Read further: https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/02/26/victory-kenyans-denied-citizenship