Kenya: Exit controls at airports, including whether border officials check for police or criminal records (2013-December 2014)

1. Exit Procedures at Kenyan Airports

Section 17 of The Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Regulations, 2012 provides that, prior to an individual's departure,

Report of Departure

17(1) Every person, other than an excluded person, shall immediately before his departure from Kenya --

personally report his intended departure to the immigration officer at the point of exit;

complete a departure declaration form in Form 20 set out in the First Schedule; and

personally deliver the departure declaration form to that officer

(2) Where any ship or aircraft is about to depart from Kenya, the person in charge or his or her agent shall, before departure --

provide an immigration officer with a list in duplicate of the names of every person embarking thereon and leaving Kenya; and

prevent the embarkation of any person who intends to leave Kenya in that ship or aircraft until he or she has complied with paragraph (1)."

(4) Any person who contravenes this regulation commits an offence.

(Kenya 2012, Sec. 17(1), (2) and (4))

A copy of the departure declaration form is attached to this Response. The form is signed by the individual, and signed and stamped by the immigration official (Kenya 2012, First Schedule).

Under Section 48 of The Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act, 2011, immigration officers have the following powers:

48. (1) Subject to and for the purposes of this Act an immigration officer shall have the power to: --

a. board, or enter, and search any carrier or premises in Kenya;

c. require any person seeking to enter or leave Kenya other than a refugee or any asylum seeker, to produce him a valid passport or a valid travel document and any form of declaration that may be prescribed;

e. arrest, restrain, stop or deny departure to any person against whom a warrant of arrest has been issued by a competent Kenyan court and hand over the person for custody to the nearest police officer.

(2) An immigration officer may investigate any offence or suspected offence under this Act and shall have all the powers and immunities conferred by law on a police officer for the purposes of the investigation. (Kenya 2011, Sec. 48(1) and (2))

In correspondence with Canada's High Commission in Nairobi, an official stated that "Kenya has exit controls for all passengers leaving the country, except for those in transit. ... Exit controls are performed by the Kenyan Department of Immigration and its agents at airports" (Canada 22 Nov. 2014). The official also noted the following:

There are three points at which documentation is checked before travelers depart Kenya by air:

Airline staff, or agents of an airline at time of check-in;

Kenyan Immigration, with scanning of passports and exit controls, including verification whether traveler (if not Kenyan national or resident) had over-stayed authorized visit; and

Airline staff or agents at gate. Verifying [if] person seeking to board is the same one who presented documents at check-in, to counter activities such as boarding pass swaps in secure area of departures hall of airport. (ibid.)

The official further explained that:

Passports must be presented to Immigration authorities on departure ... For those passengers going through exit controls, Kenyan Immigration Officers ... scan every passport. We are not aware if this is linked to a database searching for criminal records for Kenya nationals or others. However, further to consultation with the RCMP Liaison Officer at mission, we do not believe this is linked to any list of individuals with wants or warrants outstanding. (ibid)

Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

1.1 Personal Identification Secure Comparison and Evaluation System (PISCES) Database

Sources report that Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport has biometric scanners on site (Daily Nation 29 Jan. 2014; EAC Aug. 2011, 12), and has deployed a Personal Identification Secure Comparison and Evaluation System (PISCES) border control database (ibid.). According to information provided in a June 2011 report by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) on combatting international terrorism, Kenya is one of seventeen countries employing a PISCES database (US June 2011, 10). The US Department of State indicates that PISCES is "a software application, tailored to each country's specific needs, which provides border control officials at these transit points with information that allows them to identify and detain or track individuals of interest" (US 19 July 2002). The US GAO further reports that PISCES is part of the US Terrorist Interdiction Program (TIP) and allows immigration officials "in countries at risk of terrorist activity to identify the attempted travel of known or suspected terrorists" (US June 2011, 10). According to the same source, the TIP trains foreign border security officials on how to use the PISCES system (ibid.) According to the US Department of State Country Reports on Terrorism 2013, Kenya continued to partner with the U.S. in 2013 "to strengthen ... PISCES border controls at major ports of entry, including expanded automatic data transmission capability at frequently traveled sites" (US 30 Apr. 2014, 27).

Further information about border control databases employed by Kenya at ports of entry, including airports, could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

2. Kenya's Border Management System Initiatives

Country Reports on Terrorism 2013 reports that, "terrorist screening watch lists, biographic and biometric screening, and other measures were in place at major Kenyan ports of entry" (US 30 Apr. 2014, 27). The same report further states that

Kenya's counterterrorism cooperation with the United States and other partner nations remained strong: the Kenyan government welcomed substantial U.S. assistance in the post Westgate [2013 Westgate Mall terrorist attack in Nairobi] investigation and requested additional support on border security. (ibid, 26)

According to the same source, Kenya participated in the US Department of State's Anti-terrorism Assistance program in 2013 which "focused on building law enforcement capacities in the areas of border security," among others (US 30 Apr. 2014, 27).

The Daily Nation, Kenya's "leading newspaper" (Daily Nation n.d.a) [1], reports that in July 2014, the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) received US$700,000 in security equipment from the US government, which includes "20 desktop explosive trace detector machines and one year's supply of consumables" (15 July 2014).

A 2014 article published by the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) [2] states that

In June 2013, the government released funding of 67 billion Kenyan shillings (nearly 800 million US dollars) [approximately C$850 million] to the National Police to boost national security. Of that amount, four billion shillings [approximately C$50 million] was earmarked to buy security equipment ... But nothing was allocated specifically to improve border security. (IWPR 15 Jan. 2014)

Emirates News Agency, a United Arab Emirates news agency that publishes content in Arabic, English and French (Emirates News Agency n.d.), reports that

Kenya...is kicking off a national digital registration exercise in February 2015 that is meant to root out the widespread use of bogus identification documents ... Kenya will be issuing citizens aged 12 and older biometric identification cards connected to a national database containing data on people, land, assets and establishments. (ibid. 7 Nov. 2014)

AllAfrica, an African news agency, similarly reports that a new digital registration database was to be launched as of October 2014 and is expected to have information on all Kenyans registered in the database by May 2015 (1 July 2014).

3. Effectiveness

Sources report that Kenya's borders are "porous" (AllAfrica 1 July 2014; EAC Dec. 2011, 8), which results in the "ineffective control of entry and exit of persons" (ibid.).

A Workshop on Migration and Regional Integration in the East African Community report published in 2011 by East African Community (EAC) [3] outlines several challenges facing Kenya's border management system including, "document fraud," a "lack of interconnectivity of borders and integrated alien management system," and an "inadequate legislative and policy framework and weak enforcement of existing regulations" (EAC Dec. 2011, 8).

A 2014 Washington Post article reports that Kenya experiences "poor local and regional cooperation," specifically "poor coordination" between the country's National Intelligence Service (NIS) and the police (17 Jun. 2014).

The Washington Post notes that Transparency International (TI) has ranked "police and the immigration department among the most corrupt institutions in Kenya" since 2011 (17 June 2014). According to TI's East African Bribery Index 2011, Kenya's Department of Immigration was ranked fifth out of 34 government institutions where individuals were expected to pay a bribe [58.1% of the survey's respondents claimed that the department directly or indirectly asked for a bribe to complete services requested] (TI 2011, 11). A May 2014 article in the Daily Nation reports that

There have been reports in the media of how immigration and police officers are not just complicit in allowing undocumented refugees to enter the country, they also facilitate their acquisition of Kenyan identification documents. (4 May 2014)

An October 2013 article by Business Daily Africa, a Nairobi-based East African business news website (Business Daily Africa n.d.) [4], reports that 15 "senior and mid-level" immigration officers were fired after the 2013 Westgate Mall terrorist attack for allegedly being "involved in the issuance of Kenyan documents to illegal immigrants" (ibid. 30 Oct. 2013).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Notes

[1] Daily Nation is owned by Nation Media Group (Daily Nation n.d.a). Based in Nairobi (ibid. n.d.b), Nation Media Group is the "largest independent media" company in East and Central Africa and publishes print as well as online media publications (Nation Media Group n.d.), including the Business Daily Africa news website (Business Daily Africa n.d.).

[2] The IWPR is an "international not-for-profit organisation" (IWPR n.d.a) that works to promote change in areas of conflict by supporting "citizen and professional journalists, human rights and peace activists, policymakers, educators, researchers, businesses, and women's, youth and other civil society organisations and partners" in three dozen countries" (n.d.b).

[3] Headquartered in Arusha, Tanzania, the East African Community (EAC) is the "regional intergovernmental organization of the Republics of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, the United Republic of Tanzania, and the Republic of Uganda" (EAC n.d.). Its aim is to enhance "co-operation among the Partner States in, among others, political, economic and social fields for their mutual benefit" (ibid.).

[4] See note 1.

References

Agence France-Presse. 22 September 2014. "Two Iranians Nabbed in Kenya are Illegal Migrants: Police." (Factiva)

AllAfrica.com. 1 July 2014. Simon Ndonga. "Kenya: Digital ID Listing Kicks Off in October." [Accessed 27 Nov. 2014]

Business Daily Africa. 30 October 2013. Vincent Agoya. "Sacked Immigration Officers Get Court Reprieve." [Accessed 27 Nov. 2014]

_____. N.d. "About Us." [Accessed 8 Dec. 2014]

Canada. 22 November 2014. High Commission of Canada to Kenya, Nairobi. Correspondence from an official to the Research Directorate.

Daily Nation. 15 July 2014. "Kenya gets Sh60m Airport Security Kit." [Accessed 21 Nov. 2014]

_____. 4 May 2014. Rasna Warah. "Corrupt Police and Bent Immigration Officers are Costing Kenyans their Lives." [Accessed 27 Nov. 2014]

_____. 29 January 2014. "Kenya Airports Enhance Security Checks." [Accessed 10 Dec. 2014]

_____. N.d.a. "About Daily Nation." [Accessed 8 Dec. 2014]

_____. N.d.b. "Contact Us." [Accessed 8 Dec. 2014]

East African Community (EAC). December 2011. Secretariat. Workshop on Migration and Regional Integration in the East African Community. Workshop Report (EAC/IOM-IMM/02/2011) [Accessed 21 Nov. 2014]

_____. August 2011. Secretariat. First EAC Policy Makers Workshop on e-Immigration. Report of the Workshop. (EAC/IMM/e-IMM/01/2011) [Accessed 21 Nov. 2014]

_____. N.d. "About EAC." [Accessed 2 Dec. 2014]

Emirates News Agency (WAM). 7 November 2014. "Biometric Identification News from Uganda, Kenya and Nigeria." (Factiva)

_____. N.d. "About WAM." [Accessed 8 Dec. 2014]

Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR). 15 January 2014. Jadie Kaberia. "Kenya's Porous Borders Under Scrutiny." [Accessed 17 Nov. 2014]

_____. N.d.a. "About: IWPR Governance, Staff, and Offices." [Accessed 2 Dec. 2014]

_____. N.d.b. "What We Do." [Accessed 8 Dec. 2014]

Kenya. _____. 2012. The Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Regulations, 2012. [Accessed 20 Nov. 2014]

_____. 2011. The Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act, 2011. [Accessed 17 Nov. 2014]

Nation Media Group. N.d. "About Us." [Accessed 8 Dec. 2014]

United States (US). 30 April 2014. Department of State. "Kenya." Country Reports on Terrorism 2013. [Accessed 21 Nov. 2014]

_____. June 2011. Government Accountability Office. Combatting Terrorism: Additional Steps Needed to Enhance Foreign Paterns' Capacity to Prevent Terrorist Travel. [Accessed 12 Dec. 2014]

_____. 19 July 2002. Department of State. "State Dept. Introduces Terrorist Interdiction Program." [Accessed 12 Dec. 2014]

The Washington Post. 17 June 2014. Harry Misiko. "How Kenya Made Itself Vulnerable to Terror." [Accessed 27 Nov. 2014]

Transparency International. 2011. "Kenya." The East African Bribery Index 2011. [Accessed 12 Dec. 2014]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Attempts to contact the following organizations were unsuccessful within the time constraints of this Response: International Organization for Migration - Kenya; Kenya - Airports Authority (KAA), Department of Immigration, High Commission to Canada, Permanent Mission to the United Nations; UNHCR Kenya Office.

Internet sites, including: Al Jazeera; Amnesty International; BBC; Brookings Institution; Canada - travel.gc.ca; Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS); Freedom House; Human Rights Watch; International Federation for Human Rights; Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN); Kenya - Airports Authority (KAA), Department of Immigration, National Council for Law Reporting; Radio Free Europe (RFE); Reuters; UK - Foreign Travel Advice; UN - High Commissioner for Refugees, Civil Aviation Organization; Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

Attachment

Kenya. N.d. Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government, Department of Immigration Services. Entry/Departure Declaration Form. (Form 47) [Accessed 15 Dec. 2014]