Limuru, Kenya - Ugandan refugee Ugandan Rudugee Constance has been concerned that plans to include thousands of asylum seekers into Kenyan society will further alienate him and other LGBTQ refugees, a time of rising hostility.
The Shirika program launched by President William Ruto last month will transform the world’s two largest refugee camps into open cities and allow 800,000 refugees in the country to eventually gain employment, health care and other services.
Under the leadership of Shirika in Swahili, "Get Together" in Swahili, nearly 500,000 refugees in Kakuma camp in the northern part of the Dadab camp near the Somali border have the option to leave the settlement to live with other Kenyans.
"The idea of integration is good because it will guarantee refugees free life and all rights," Constance said. He did not give him his last name for security reasons.
But Constance said groups representing the people of LGBTQ have not been invited to a public forum held in major cities to debate the plan, which first surfaced in 2023.
“Unlike other refugees, we have serious concerns about the inclusion of safety, health and housing…but how do we express these issues when we are not part of the process?” he said.
Kenya's UNHCR John Burugu said all those affected by the Shirika program were invited to comment.
"We did not lock any one or the group in the process," Bruger told the Thomson Reuters Foundation over the phone.
"You don't have to attend the public engagement forum in person. We have people, groups and organizations who submit written memorandums and we have captured their point of view."
But groups defending LGBTQ refugee rights are worried that this vulnerable group will be ignored.
The UNHCR praised the Shirika program for years, an opportunity to improve refugee lives and create economic opportunities for Kenya.
Kenya has been hosting refugees in Somalia, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo for decades, many of whom have built their lives in the vast expansion of Kakuma and Dadabu, and now his children are now adults and do not know other homes.
However, people in these camps live in obstacles and cannot legally open bank accounts, start businesses or work. State schools do not accept refugee students and asylum seekers need permits to move around the country.
Kenya’s 2021 refugee law should address these gaps, but bureaucratic barriers and lack of resources prevented its full implementation.
"Recognize that solutions from refugees' dependence on humanitarian aid on greater self-reliance are possible," said the United Nations High Commissioner Filippo Grandi, at the official launch of the Shirika Program in Nairobi.
Ruto describes Shirika as “our bold native solution” which will focus on human rights.
The plan will be implemented in 2036 and is expected to cost approximately $943 million.
Funds will come from the World Bank, UNHCR and private institutions, and the Kenyan government will allocate resources in the budget in June.
However, the plan faces opposition from some community leaders.
Daniel Epuyo, a councillor in the western Turkana constituency where Kakuma is located, said community leaders were not fully consulted. Leaders call for repatriation rather than integration.
Activists are concerned that Shirika's plan could worsen anti-LGBTQ sentiment in Kenya and other parts of Africa.
Kenya was once considered a safe haven for LGBTQ refugees, and the United Nations said the 1,000 Ugandans asylum here in 2021 - a number that could grow since a law passed by neighboring Uganda in 2023, including “aggravated the death penalty for homosexuality.”
Kenya’s regulations criminalize same-sex relations, although they are rarely enforced. However, cases of homosexual abuse and discrimination have occurred, and activists fear that LGBTQ people, including refugees, are politically targeted.
Last year, Bruger said that in Kenya, being persecuted as an LGBTQ person is not a reason to protect.
Craig Paris, executive director of the East African Refugee Alliance, said the gay attacks in the camps, especially Kakuma, meant that the government had to take precautions.
"If it happens in controlled and secured camps, it could get worse in an open community unless the government takes intentional measures to address it," Paris said.
Kamya Christestom, a Kakuma attacked refugee, said refugees were worried about their safety.
“Will my safety as a trans person be guaranteed when we are mixed with the host community?” she asked.
Ibrahim Kazibwe, founder of the community empowerment and self-help organization, said the LGBTQ group has applied for donor agencies to request homosexual rights to be included in the Shirika program.
“President Ruto said the implementation of the plan will be human rights-centric, and we hope that those rights will also include LGBTQ rights,” Kazibwe said.
Njoki Mwangi, spokesman for the Nairobi agency, said UNHCR had worked closely with the government to ensure that “no groups were left behind”.
“The key to the guiding principles is inclusive and non-discriminatory based on race, race, religion, nationality, gender or any other reason.”
However, many gay refugees have pointed to years-long delays in the government’s handling of asylum bids, a major obstacle to securing their rights.
Constance, 32, lives with 15 other Ugandans in the town of Limuru in northwest Nairobi, all awaiting a decision on an asylum application.
Since his first application eight years ago, he has no idea why his bid was not approved and the delay has set him apart.
“I had the final review process in 2023, but I have not received feedback yet,” he said. “I lost hope along the way.”