Leaders in Kwale and Kilifi counties have welcomed renewed efforts by the National Government to eradicate statelessness in the country.

According to the United Nations (UN), a stateless person, is an individual who is not considered to be a national by any state under the operation of its laws.

Led by Kwale Governor Fatuma Achani, the leaders said they are in full support of all initiatives to end and prevent statelessness.

Governor Achani says stateless people are usually unable to participate fully in socio-economic spheres and are often relegated to the shadows.

‘This means that stateless persons often cannot go to school, secure a job or open a bank account, among other challenges,’ she said.

She went further: Now they would be able to access basic rights like education, health care, social protection, financial services and joining the formal labour market’.

The leader’s sentiments come hot on the heels of the Pemba community citizenship award ceremony in Kilifi County, presided over by President William Ruto.

The elaborate ceremony held at Karisa Maitha Stadium celebrated the recognition of the Pemba community as an ethnic group in Kenya.

This follows the recognition of the Pemba as an ethnic community in Kenya in a Special Gazette Notice issued on January 30, 2023, by the President.

Their recognition follows that of other previously stateless communities, including the Makonde from Tanzania and Mozambique in 2017 and the Shona from Zimbabwe in 2020.

It is believed that the Pemba people, who number more than 7,000, entered Kenya from Zanzibar archipelago before independence in 1963 and ventured into fishing as their main economic activity.

When Kenya became a republic in 1964 after decolonization, the Pembas were neither registered as an indigenous tribe nor recognised as Kenyan citizens.

Principal Secretary for Immigration and Citizen Services, Ambassador Julius Bitok, speaks during the Pemba community citizenship award ceremony in Kilifi County.

‘The Pemba community, which predominantly lives in Kwale and Kilifi counties, will no longer be stateless and will be able to access public services like regular Kenyans,’ said Achani.

Achani commended the move by the President to grant the Pemba community Kenyan citizenship and promised to support the National Government’s agenda for inclusivity in building the nation.

Kilifi Governor, Gideon Mung’aro, thanked the President for choosing his county as the venue for awarding citizenship to the members of the Pemba community.

Governor Mung’aro says the move by the National Government to end statelessness will go a long way in reducing the number of stateless people in the country, strengthening their protection and reducing the risk of discrimination.

‘Going forward, members of the Pemba community would have rights such as participating in the socio-economic and political system and having access to social benefits,’ said Mung’aro.

The leaders, who included Msambweni Legislator Feisal Bader and his Lunga Lunga counterpart Mangale Chiforomodo, said the decision to recognise the stateless Pemba community as Kenyans demonstrates the government’s unwavering commitment to ending statelessness in the country.

They said that the move will see the Pemba people issued with identification documents such as ID cards, birth certificates and passports that will enable them to enjoy their rights as Kenyan citizens.

‘We thank the President for his efforts to end statelessness in the country and ensure that all people are recognised,’ said Bader.

MP Chiforomodo says the Pembas have lived as stateless people since independence and trapped in legal limbo, which has caused them untold suffering.

The Principal Secretary (PS) for Immigration and Citizen Services, Ambassador Julius Bitok, says all Kenyans of Pemba heritage will now be issued with relevant identification documents in accordance with the Constitution.

Amb. Bitok says the move by the President ends the Pemba community’s statelessness and marginalisation that have lasted for close to 100 years.

The PS urged members of the Pemba community residing in the coastal region to come out in large numbers and acquire Kenyan nationality.

Source: Kenya News Agency