For many, home is still where the tent is

Many thousands of Kenyans remain displaced a year after election-related violence forced around half a million people to flee their homes, according to humanitarian sources.



“Despite government claims that the vast majority of internally displaced persons (IDPs) have returned home or been resettled, civil society and media sources report that hundreds of thousands of people remain displaced as a result of election-related violence, security operations, inter-clan conflicts over resources, and activities of militia groups in some parts of the country,” according to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), a project of the Norwegian Refugee Council.



"While widespread violence has ended, and the political situation has greatly improved during 2008 (thanks partly to international pressure), displacement has continued on a smaller scale in different parts of the country due to ethnic conflicts over water resources and the government’s response to these conflicts, and due to a government operation against the Sabaot Land Defence Force in the Mount Elgon region of Western Kenya," the IDMC said.



According to the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS), the lead agency appointed by the government to coordinate humanitarian response during the post-election violence, at least 110,000 IDPs are still in so-called “transit” sites, mainly in Rift Valley Province, which bore the brunt of the chaos that erupted following the disputed presidential election in late December 2007.



Poor sanitation



In an overview of Kenya’s IDP situation the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) noted: “Many of the transit sites lack basic services, including adequate sanitation and hygiene facilities, as well as access to schools and health facilities.



“Food assistance is currently being provided on a monthly basis by WFP (World Food Programme) and the KRCS to IDPs in transit sites through established food distribution points. The continuous movement of IDPs and the dispersed nature of the transit sites is presenting challenges to adequate service provision and the humanitarian community is also focusing on conflict-sensitive investment in areas of return to help ensure that returns are sustainable,” the OCHA report said.



Titus Mung'ou, the acting communications manager for KRCS, told IRIN that construction of shelters for IDPs waiting to return home would be the main challenge in 2009.

Photo: Manoocher Deghati/IRIN

An IDP camp in the Rift Valley province - file photo

"Some of the displaced are not sure that adequate reconciliation and peace efforts have taken place for them to return to their homes,” he added.



Government’s return programme



The government launched an IDP return programme, Operation Rudi Nyumbani (return home), in May 2008, and according to the IDMC, put pressure on IDPs to leave camps by cutting off essential services such as water.



"The programme also failed to meet standards set out in the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement as it did not establish the conditions for voluntary and safe return, for example by informing people of the security situation in areas of return or by undertaking reconciliation initiatives" IDMC said.



Mount Elgon



Regarding displacement not related to the post-election violence, the IDMC said up to 45,000 people were displaced in the Mount Elgon area of Western Province from 2006 to December 2007 by a combination of fighting between communities and between government security forces and a militia group called the Sabaot Land Defence Force (SLDF).



"In Mount Elgon, security operations by the government against the SLDF have continued to lead to loss of lives and livelihoods and displaced thousands of people," the Centre said.



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