Hiiraan Online
Sunday, May 18, 2014
With countless number of Somalis still experiencing extremely bad living conditions at different detention centres in Kenya, there has been an alarming call from over hundred Somali nationals who are held at the Jommo Kenyatta airport custody saying they need to be urgently returned to their homeland.
These inmates were part of thousands of Somalis who were arrested since Kenya started the anti Somali swoop in the country nearly two months ago.
One of the detainees who demanded anonymity for security reasons told the local media via phone from his detention that they started hunger strike to show how eagerly they want to be sent back home.
“We are experiencing very bad living conditions—we are being held in two small rooms and mosquitoes are biting us in every single minute” said the inmate who added that some of them sleep on the dusty floor in the day while others sleep in the night due to the small rooms they are being held in.
“The people here were arrested from different places, some of us have been here for more than 40 days while the rest were brought two weeks ago” he said adding that thousands more are experiencing such hard life in other Kenyan custodies.
Somali government previously said that it will help the repatriation of its citizens in Kenya who don’t have legal residence permits.
So far nearly 500 Somalis were sent home by the Kenyan government since the swoop began nearly two months ago.
HOL English News Desk