High court suspends government directive for refugees to surrender passports

The High Court has halted a government directive ordering all refugees and asylum seekers in Kenya to surrender their passports within 30 days. This follows a petition by the Refugee Legal Networks and Semhar Weldemichael Haile, filed on Monday.

Justice Bahati Mwamuye issued a conservatory order on Tuesday, suspending the directive by the Commissioner of Refugee Services until an inter partes hearing of the case on November 19, 2024.

“A conservatory order is hereby issued staying the 1st Respondent's (the Commissioner of Refugee Services) directing that all refugees and asylum seekers in Kenya shall surrender the passport from the Country of Origin within thirty (30) days of the date of the notice," reads the ruling.

Justice Mwamuye further instructed that no action is to be taken against refugees regarding this passport policy while the case remains unresolved.

Additionally, the Commissioner of Refugee Services has been ordered to disseminate the court's directive publicly within three working days.

The ruling requires this to be done through a notice on the Department of Refugee Services website, across its social media platforms, and through posted notices in its offices and refugee camps nationwide.

The Commissioner is also expected to inform relevant refugee and asylum-seeker organisations across Kenya.

The case stems from a directive issued by Commissioner for Refugee Affairs John Burugu, who invoked the 1951 United Nations Convention on the Status of Refugees, its 1967 Protocol, and Kenya's Refugees Act No. 10 of 2021 as grounds for the regulation.

“In light of these recent developments and concerns regarding the use of passports from the country of origin, the Department of Refugee Services, (DRS) is hereby issuing a moratorium on the possession and use of such passports by refugees,” Burugu said.

Burugu’s directive required all refugees and asylum seekers in Kenya to surrender passports issued by their countries of origin to the Department of Refugee Services within a month from September 30, 2024.

He explained that refugees would instead receive Kenyan-issued Civil, Identity, and Travel Documents, including Machine Readable Conventional Travel Documents (CTDs), which allow international travel outside Kenya except to the refugee’s country of origin.

Commissioner Burugu had warned that non-compliance with the directive could lead to serious repercussions, including potential expulsion, as outlined in Section 17 of the Refugees Act.

“Failure to comply with this directive may result in legal consequences as outlined in the aforementioned international convention and the Refugee Act No. 10 of 2021 and may lead to legal implications including cancellation of refugee status and subsequent expulsion from the country of asylum,” he said.

The respondents in the case are the Commissioner of Refugees and the State Law Office. The case is scheduled for mention on November 19, 2024.