Kenyans in the Diaspora Urged to Register with Embassies as 273 Languish in Jails Abroad
Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Ambassador Monica Juma says the number of Kenyans serving jail terms in foreign countries stand at 273.
Juma revealed this in a document tabled before a parliamentary committee on Monday.
Juma, who appeared before the Defence and Foreign Relations Committee, said majority of the 273 Kenyans are detained in neighboring Tanzania.
She noted that the number could be more than the one the ministry has in its records and promised to supply an updated list within 14 days. This number raises fears that Kenya's missions abroad are not giving Kenyans the required assistance.
Ambassador Juma further said that the country cannot afford legal assistance for those jailed in foreign countries even as she called on Kenyans in the diaspora to register with respective embassies to help the government be able to dispatch consular services.
“We do not have provisions for legal assistance because engaging international lawyers can be pretty expensive. What we are doing is to urge Kenyans to respect the laws of other countries,” Dr Juma said.
The CS also noted that Kenya's missions abroad have been directed to engage Kenyans on a regular basis to help them avoid running into trouble with the law.
Other countries where Kenyans are being detained include China (57), Uganda (47), Malaysia (25), South Sudan (10), Qatar (8), Thailand (7), Seychelles (6), Ethiopia and Indonesia five, three in Philippines, Kuwait, Botswana and Pakistan and two in Togo, Oman and South Africa.
Rwanda, Japan, Austria, Brazil, Nepal and South Korea each have one Kenyan prisoners. Juma said that data protection laws in some countries such as the United Kingdom prevent them from sharing information on Kenyan nationals in their custody.
Comments (15)
Just from a couple of articles I read here recently, the gotta be at least 5 Kenyans in the US prisons. Gather your facts lady
In the US? Oh man! there could be even at least 50-100 Kenyans in US prisons.
The are defeated by small stuff like renewing the pass-port and issuing Id. The other day they were overcharging the fee for pp & Id. Can they tell us how many people they have helped in USA who were in trouble or in prison.
Umepunguza ratili? You look like you've eaten the kenyan budget.
What kind of garbage are you taking about Bibi CS., you can’t afford legal fees can’t afford passport can’t affors ID why don’t you leave diaspora alone. Ama it’s a method to tag and see who is sending money where., please take your facts elsewhere
We dont have to register at any embassy, we are Kenyans and when one departs the airport, they know where u are heading to. One can call for services and no one rendes for them like passport renewal n.k so no need just to track personal business period
Dr Juma ur telling many illegals Diasporas to register n they think if they do watamulikwa na gavas especially the ones in uk n USA.Some idiots in this countries walitupa their passports the time walifika huko Which is very sad.U said it very well that Kenyans should obey the law in hosting country n ur safe.But my advice has bin invest home ndio kikiumana either from the law or bibi amekuacha u pack n leave but kama wewe ni hivi hivi tu u will suffer big time.
Registered or not Kenya missions abroad have never been able to help anyone and will not - for simple jobs driver , receptionist they employ other nationals . during jamhuri day they invite a few known friends to go and eat matunda ya uhuru and if you happen to know the hotel they are using . they will tell you you need to wear a suit as if those who fought for our independence wore suits. all what is good about diaspora is sending those dollars back home be it government or families . for the rest they don't give a damn
The US Embassy in Washington D.C cannot handle registration of IDs and or renewing passports. How are they going to deal with sensitive issue like this? I think the problem is money. If you see the way the Government is looking for ways to raise money; increasing VAT tax, Excise tax, increased tax rates , monitoring how much the diaspora is sending home etc. There is something smelling bad and am wondering if it is time to divest from Kenya.
I have started to wonder whether it is making sense to invest in Kenya any more. There are so many things going against investing in Kenya people in the diaspora. If one has kids in the diaspora, chances are those kids will not invest in Kenya and won't know what to do there. If those of us who were born there have problems like owning land and then finding it has be grabbed by someone. If it is difficulty for us to fight those cartels and corruption, how will kids that are born in the Diaspora going to fight, say their fathers land is grabbed and they need to fight it in the corrupt court system?
Now add all these taxes ....Vat, excise, food costs and basically everything. You have to be getting "free" money somewhere to live comfortably in Kenya.
So the question is, is it worth to work hard and send your money there knowing all the corruption going on there? Big chance of loosing ur property if you have not lost already.
@maliyawenyewe ur not investing everything u have back home.Ur investing something small incase shit happens in majuu.Remember even in that majuu shit can happen,u can loose yr job,the economy in that hosting country can collapse,the same kids u have can send u to nursing home so they can sell of yr property ndio wanjienjoy??But hii maunjinga tunakuwanga nayo that we always see manegatives in Kenya all the time ndio mbaya.B4 u buy anything in Kenya do yr diligence n u will b safe.Anyway Personally all I know is ukiwa umenjipanga kiasi ur way way beta off hapa jamhuri.But it’s your choice as u get older u will only blame yourself not the corruption excuse.
Of course we have jipanga-d a long time ago. a lot of us have invested heavily in Kenya but my point is simple: If the government keeps selling our country to China and everybody else, soon you will be talking in Chinese.
Secondly and main point is this; I am okay investing for myself but with all the corruption, how are these kids, our kids in the diaspora going to deal with it? Take for example the guy who got conned 100Million shillings and he is in the diaspora. He will have to spend a lot of time going back and forth from the US to Kenya and you know how that goes. The guy in Kenya will pass kite kidogot to the the judges so that they can postpone the case. If that can happen to the first generation Kenyan in the diaspora, who can the kids do to fight for that property in that case? Nothing. Taking all things in from a financial point of view, yes, its good for me to retire in Kenya and I have taken care of that but what about the kids? No matter how many times you take them to Kenya, they are never going to be prepared to fight the corruption to keep their parents wealth in Kenya.
This is where the government should step in if they are interested in helping the diaspora. Open up a desk for diaspora affairs where we can seek help by lodging our complaints at a centralized location. I'll pay the cost of such help. As far as registering with the consulates, the first thing is they should start answering their phones.
Why even bother returning to Kenya and deal with a dysfunctional health system, unbearable traffic jams, high level insecurity; especially in cities, sporadic water and electricity supply, and the predatory nature of Kenyans in general? For me, i will live and die here in the United States.
Fear not Kenyans, our country has changed for good, after all we have no history of bestiality back in our villages. Why worry?. Worst fear is fear itself, let us allow future to take its course. The registration is a good idea but hard to sell and practice.