ROD

Migrants in Kenya are upon arrest and subsequent production in court held in various prisons,
and police stations all over the Republic as they proceed with their cases. This depends on where
they are apprehended and brought to Court. Prison conditions exposes asylum seekers and
refugees to a myriad of problems which include but not limited to lack of legal representation ,
counselling services etc.
In addition to routine arrests and detention of irregular migrants in Kenya, the authorities on several
occasions in recent years have carried out mass arrests and detention of migrants and refugees
as part of its security operations. For instance at the end of March 2014, the Interior Ministry
launched yet another security operation dubbed ‘Usalama Watch’, again aimed at addressing
rising terror attacks in Kenya. The operation was implemented following an attack in Mombasa
on 23 March 2014 and explosions in Eastleigh on 31 March 2014, which killed at least ten people
and injured scores of others. 74 On 26 March 2014, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of
Interior and Coordination of National Government, Joseph Ole Lenku, issued a press statement
ordering all refugees to the camps citing security challenges as the reason. This order was made
despite the High Court ruling overturning an identical directive in July 2013. On 4 April, security
forces put up road blocks and began sweeps in Eastleigh, indiscriminately rounding up and
arresting thousands of people. During the operation more than 4,000 individuals were arrested
and detained, the majority of them Somali refugees and asylum seekers. An estimated 2,200
refugees were sent to Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps, while 359 Somalis were deported to
Mogadishu, Somalia by April 2014.
Several agencies expressed their concern over Operation ‘Usalama Watch’. UNHCR cautioned
over harassment and other abuses, overcrowding and inadequate sanitation in holding facilities,
including the Kasarani Stadium where hundreds or even thousands of migrants were held. The
conditions of detention were reportedly poor. Migrants/refugees were held in unsanitary and
overcrowded cells in which men, women and children were held together. Witnesses interviewed
by Amnesty International said the stench in Kasarani Police Station was unbearable. People
defecated on the floor and, due to lack of room, would later trample on the human waste. During
hours of detention, detainees were not given any food. At least two people reportedly died during
the operation.
Finally, Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA), mandated to hold the police accountable
to the public in the performance of its functions, released a monitoring report on operation ‘Usalama
Watch’ in July 2014. The IPOA confirmed that the detention facilities were in very deplorable
conditions, they were also overcrowded and children and adults were confined in the same cells.
The IPOA also concluded that the constitutional limit of 24 hours, within which arraignment in
74 Amnesty International,(2014)pg 4-5
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