Kenya’s Prime Cabinet Secretary, Mudavadi Sets Aside Ksh 100M for Evacuation of Kenyans in Lebanon After Ultimatum

By Lisbeth Micheni,Kenya

Kenya’s Prime Cabinet Secretary (CS) and Foreign & Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi, on Wednesday revealed that the government has set aside Ksh 100 million to fund the evacuation of Kenyans still stuck in war-torn Lebanon.

While appearing before the Senate on October 9, Mudavadi said that the ministry had also set up a committee to coordinate the evacuation of Kenyans who had already registered and requested support to fly back home.

“The government of Kenya has set aside Ksh 100 million and there is a committee in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs working with the security and other agencies to see how this Ksh 100 million can be utilized to assist in the evacuation of Kenyans who are in Lebanon at this point of time,” Mudavadi said.

When asked why it took this long for the government to intervene, he clarified that the government had indeed started the process way earlier before the war escalated, but the state faced various challenges including most Kenyans failing to register.

In a group of about 26,000 Kenyans who work and live in Lebanon, Mudavadi said that only about 1,500 registered when the government first called on Kenyans stuck in the country to register.

“Even before the war escalated, this was ongoing and we had received almost 1,500 or so who had registered, indicating that they may need support for evacuation,” Mudavadi relayed.

In a shocking revelation, Mudavadi also said that some of the Kenyans were initially against being evacuated, saying, “The others were quiet and believe me Kenyans, we also had a situation where the Kenyans there, out of their own volition said they don’t want to move, they want to hold out until the situation cools down so we have that dilemma as well.”

This revelation comes just two days after the Office of the Kenyan Ombudsman (the Commission on Administrative Justice) gave the PS Diaspora Affairs a 7-day ultimatum to give the way forward on the Kenyans still in Lebanon.

“The Commission has given the Principal Secretary of the State Department for Diaspora Affairs seven days to respond to social media reports highlighting the plight of Kenyans living and working in Lebanon, particularly in light of the recent escalation of violence and the deteriorating security situation,’’ the Ombudsman shared in a statement.

‘’Provide an evacuation plan indicating the steps to be taken to evacuate Kenyan citizens from Lebanon, including the timeline, logistics, resources allocated, and any collaboration with partners for the evacuation process,” he added.

This was after several Kenyans still in Lebanon started posting viral videos depicting them still stuck in the war-torn country.

One of them alleged that some of the domestic workers did not have a passport as their employers had refused to hand them back, a habit referred to as the Kafala System in the Middle East.

Following this, the ministry gave a directive to Kenyans still in Lebanon to register for evacuation and reach out for help in an 11-day ultimatum that ends on October 12.

Kenya’s non-resident Ambassador to Lebanon, Halima Mohamud, based in Kuwait, urged Kenyans still stranded to reach out for help on +96590906719, +96171175006, +254114757002.

“We are in touch with all Kenyans in Lebanon. So far, no one has been reported dead or injured,” Mohamud stated.