Abstract: There have been escalating historical tensions between Kenya and Somalia in the recent past ranging between land and sea border disputes and many more. The tensions between the two countries escalated when Kenya sent its troops under the United Nation’s AMISOM to restore peace and order in the wore torn Somalia. Over the years, the Kenyan government has raised issues with regards to the perceived insecurity brought about by presence of Somalia refugees in Kenya. This formed the basis for this study to critically assess the influence of refugees’ presence on Kenya’s relation with Somalia. The study specifically sought to assess the extent of Somali refugees of Kenya, to determine the diplomatic relationship between Kenya and Somalia, to establish the link between existence of refugees and diplomatic relations between Kenya and Somalia, and to suggest the possible approaches. This research was carried out as a descriptive survey where qualitative and quantitative data was collected. The study targeted a population of 217,444 individuals comprising 214,446 Somali refugees residing in Dadaab refugee camp and 3 officials’ one from the Government of Kenya Foreign Affairs office, one from Federal republic of Somalia Foreign Affairs and one from UNHCR. The researcher used a mix of proportionate and random sampling to select 384 respondents who were interviewed using questionnaires and guided interviews. At the onset of the research, the researcher piloted the data collection tools over 37 participants from Ifo camp within Dadaab refugee complex where the reliability of the instruments was ascertained with a reliability index of 0.825(82.5%). This ascertained that the research tools were reliable and hence further analysis could be done. The collected data was downloaded from the Kobo platform in Excel format after which it was cleaned to remove outliers. The researcher then coded and fed the data into Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24. From SPSS, the researcher ran for frequencies and measures of central tendencies. Research findings indicate that Kenya hosts 433,212 registered refugees and 54,476 asylum-seekers. 60% of the refugee population is of Somali origin nearly 80% of them residing in the Dadaab refugee camps. Most of the respondents at 43% (165) believe that the country-of-origin characteristics have highly increased Somali’s relationship with Kenya. 44% (167) note that their skills and capacities had increased Somalia’s relations with Kenya and 41% (155) believe that the available durable solutions had maintained Somalia’s relations with Kenya. The researcher concludes that over half of refugee population in Kenya is of Somali origin and that the diplomatic relationship between Kenya and Somalia places a priority on traditional diplomacy and conflict resolution. In addition, there is a clear linkage between presence of refugees and diplomatic relations between Kenya and Somalia. It is the opinion of the researcher that Kenya considers other avenues of dispute resolutions including possibly using sports as a diplomatic tool to bolster peace among the warring communities in the border or even joint livelihood projects and opportunities. Also, the researcher opines that the two countries should try the available diplomatic means which are better off than legal options since diplomacy allows for the termination of disputes upon voluntary acceptance by both teams.
Keywords: Diplomacy, Refugee, Relations.
Title: IMPACT OF REFUGEE’S PRESENCE ON CONFLICTS IN KENYA-SOMALIA DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS IN DADAAB REFUGEE CAMP, KENYA
Author: Fatuma Roba, Dr. Martin Erixon Wamalwa
International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research
ISSN 2348-3156 (Print), ISSN 2348-3164 (online)
Vol. 10, Issue 4, October 2022 - December 2022
Page No: 131-139
Research Publish Journals
Website: www.researchpublish.com
Published Date: 10-October-2022
