H.E. Mr. Richard Opembe:

I will start with the first question from Deputy Smith. There has definitely been international outrage about what transpired in Kenya and certain comments have been made. Based on this, the position Kenya has taken is quite clear. We need to remember Kenya has ensured that certain activities being perpetrated by these terrorist concerns and groups are being addressed. I refer the committee to the piracy that was ongoing on the Suez Canal, which caused international outcry on the trading route. Kenya took measures to ensure that was quelled.

I refer to the Public Benefit Organisation Act. Kenya has put its case forward and stated clearly that non-governmental actors in Kenya making valid contributions towards assistance on the humanitarian level are most welcome. We have an NGO society that comprises in excess of 4,000 organisations engaged in various activities to assist on a humanitarian level. The funding of these concerns must be accounted for and they must be accountable because these resources are obtained from donors in other countries who give willingly in the hope that a project specified for that utilisation will be executed. Unfortunately, the records of these public benefit organisations are not well kept. The government has stated clearly that if an organisation is involved in a humanitarian engagement, it really does not have anything to hide. All we want to know is: is the organisation registered? Is it complying with its mandate as a charitable concern? Is it accounting for the moneys that it is receiving from those people who are supporting it? Is it ensuring that it is going to the beneficiaries and is this money being used in a sustainable manner? Some of these concerns utilise this money to enrich themselves.

The amount of money that is used for administrative costs and requirements far exceeds what goes to the beneficiaries of that charity or contribution. Looking at what actions we are taking and taking into context the civil society, the Kenyan Government is not in any way cancelling negotiations or discussions with the civil organisations. We are willing to discuss with them and we are willing to listen to them but we are also stating clearly that we have a challenge and it is a two-way traffic. The Kenyan Government has engaged with Ireland and the humanitarian and non-governmental concerns of Ireland to find ways and means in which we can work together. We are, as I mentioned in my presentation, working on the Nyumba Kumi initiative, which involves public policing. At this moment in time, some of our officers are undertaking a course in Templemore on that aspect. We are very appreciative of what Ireland is doing for Kenya in that regard.

I understand he has left the meeting, but Deputy Durkan raised valid concerns. We are moving towards ensuring that we have a co-ordinated approach. We are looking at it being done with consideration for the communities and nations within the area. There is the East Africa community area and the larger neighbouring states in that area. However, when we are looking at the al-Shabaab, what is the objective? It is to initiate sustained attacks in any way it can that affect the economy of our nation. This has been realised. It is now a known and challenging fact that our tourism sector is suffering because of these attacks.

The travel advisories are also affecting the nation. Once these attacks are perpetrated, we find that the hoteliers and the tourism attractions, which are mainly in the coastal region, suffer from a depletion. The international tourism community does not want to come to Kenya because of the red alerts, travel advisories, negative publicity and all manner of non-support. This does not allow Kenya to move forward. We have a big problem in that area and we would appreciate if the international community would evaluate the economic damage that some of these travel advisories are having on Kenya.

If we look at the coastal area of Kenya, where we have a huge Muslim population, the number of people who have lost their jobs in the hotel industry and the value-add industry spinning off from the tourism industry exceeds 25,000. These people cannot now find a reasonable and decent form of livelihood. They have experience in the hospitality industry, but are now being easily radicalised. They are being made part and parcel of a terrorism concern, organisation, unit, or club, or for that matter, society. This is a big problem, but we have the African Union Mission known as AMISOM, and which includes Kenya, Uganda, Burundi and Somalia. These countries are making their contribution towards stabilisation programmes for Somalia.

Deputy O'Sullivan asked whether the 147 people referred to were Kenyans or of other nationalities. Garissa University was a newly opened university and its enrolment was purely Kenyan students coming from various regions within the republic. Many came from the western part of the republic. Others came from the central and coastal part, inclusive of the north eastern part, which is basically within the Garissa area. When we look at internal immigration, Kenya has been a country which has been very accommodative. We have had to shoulder many of the immigrants or refugees coming in from Somalia as a result of the destabilisation of the government structures there. From South Sudan, we have two of the largest camps in the world. The Kakuma camp is in the western part of the country on the border with Sudan. We also have the Dadaab camp, which houses more than 600,000 refugees. This camp has exerted a lot of pressure on the economy of Kenya and contributed greatly to the environmental degradation of that area.

Since 1991, we have been continuously cognisant of the problem in Somalia. This camp has been open for the past 24 years and, in conjunction with various humanitarian organisations, NGOs, the United Nations humanitarian effort and the United Nations commission for refugees, we have been associating in ways and means to ensure that at least some form of assistance is given to these refugees, that they have sanitation, water and a way to get an education and that they can create a livelihood within these camps. The strain has been excessive and we are now looking at ways and means to come up with a tripartite agreement, between Kenya, Somalia, and the United Nations, to find ways and means within which we can either close the camp so that these refugees can be moved back to their country and from there be incorporated into the well-being, development and economic good of their own country.

The camps, for reasons best known to the terrorists, have been infiltrated by the al-Shabaab. It is now using these camps and the individuals within these camps, more particularly, the youth, to radicalise them. In certain instances, religious leaders from Somalia have infiltrated these camps and are perpetrating the acts of organising attacks on Kenyans in the coastal region. The committee will note that there was a time when these attacks were mainly in the city of Nairobi. There were bombs and improvised explosive devices in Nairobi. The security measures which have been taken have now made it not possible for these strikes to be perpetrated within the cities. Now they are further in towards the border between Kenya and Somalia.

Many efforts are also being made towards ensuring that the Kenyan Government, acting with the religious leaders and through the various means of information and engagement, is making the people there aware that the government is working towards their betterment. We are not working towards their detriment. We have never done so and we do not intend to do so.