State: Sh2bn needed to evacuate Kenyans stranded in Lebanon
People and members of the military inspect the site of an Israeli strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, September 20, 2024.
Taxpayers will have to fork out at least Sh2 billion to airlift 7,200 Kenyans caught up in the war in Lebanon back home, Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo has said.
The PS said there are more than 24,000 Kenyans stuck in the volatile West Asian country but only about 7,200 are willing to return home.
Appearing before the National Assembly’s Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Security on Thursday, Dr Omollo said the evacuation process will require at least 31 flights at a cost of at least Sh2 billion.
“There are at least 24,000 Kenyans in Lebanon where more than 20,000 are not registered in the system. Just about 7,200 have registered that they are ready to be evacuated,” PS Omollo said.
He told the committee led by Narok West MP Gabriel Tongoyo that most Kenyans in Lebanon earn meagre salaries of Sh30,000 and have no travelling documents.
The PS had appeared before the committee to give a progress report on the implementation of the Justice (retired) David Maraga taskforce report on police reforms as well as an update on fight against human trafficking and smuggling in Kenya.
A quick search shows that it costs up to 427 Kuwaiti Dinars to book a one-way flight, economy class, on Qatar Airways from Kuwait International Airport through Doha’s Hamad International Airport to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi aboard Airbus A350-900.
Using an exchange rate of Sh419.97 to one Kuwaiti Dinar, the cost of such a normal flight will be Sh179,326 per person and multiplied by 7,200 people, the total cost would be Sh1.29 billion.
The figure is an estimate and does not take into account the current war situation in the country and the cost of evacuation from Lebanon to Kuwait.
In early October, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, who is also the CS for Foreign Affairs, told senators that President William Ruto's administration had only set aside Sh100 million to evacuate Kenyans stranded in the war-torn country amid rising tensions in the Middle East.
He noted that the Kenyan Embassy in Kuwait is in the process of registering Kenyans for evacuation, while the government has already set up a coordination committee at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to oversee the evacuation process.
Describing the exercise as a massive undertaking, Mr Mudavadi said about 1,500 Kenyans out of an estimated 26,000 living in Lebanon had registered with the ministry.
He said his ministry had sent out messages for those in need to register for evacuation even before the war escalated.
On August 6, the government launched an emergency evacuation plan for its citizens in Lebanon, citing escalating tensions.
A statement from the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs instructed all Kenyans wishing to be evacuated to ensure they registered with the ministry before October 12, 2024.
However, by the deadline, Diaspora Affairs PS Roseline Njogu announced that only 6,907 Kenyans stranded in the Asian country had registered for evacuation and arrangements were being made to airlift them.
PS Omollo told MPs that illegal immigration, especially that of domestic workers to foreign countries, is one of the two phases of human trafficking and smuggling.
“There are two phases to human trafficking and smuggling where one involves immigration, especially of domestic workers who end up in deplorable conditions. There is a racket through which the crime happens and we have tried to address it but there is still a huge gap,” said Dr Omollo.
Mr Mudavadi said there was an existing ban on the export of local labour to Lebanon and argued that many Kenyans caught up in the current conflict may have acted against official guidelines.
PS Njogu added that some Kenyans have continued to enter Lebanon, sometimes bypassing official channels and using airports in neighbouring countries.
She reiterated that Lebanon is not considered a safe destination for Kenyans as there are no formal agreements that would guarantee their rights, provide safe migration routes or ensure access to consular services.
The current crisis in Lebanon stems from Israel's incursion into the southern part of the country targeting Hezbollah militants after more than a year of hostilities between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
On October 7, Hamas launched a surprise attack on southern Israel that left some 1,200 dead and at least 240 hostages, according to Israeli officials.
As Israel began its military response in Gaza, Hezbollah militants began rocket attacks on Israel in support of Hamas, leading to increased military operations in southern Lebanon, which have raised concerns at the UN.
