Due to pressure from the situation, leaders from both camps agreed not to collect food or undergo fingerprinting because they felt all refugees were not being given equal consideration. Some asked: "How can you put refugees in categories while others are depending on food rations?"People have been injured by live bullets, and one person was reported dead after being shot in the head with a live bullet. When he was taken to the Kenya Red Cross hospital in Kalobeyei Settlement, he had already succumbed to his injuries.
The tension between refugees, Kenyan police forces, and the General Service Unit (GSU) is higher than during previous strikes. There has been a week of stakeholder meetings with leaders, UNHCR, WFP, and the Government of Kenya intervening on the issue of Differentiated Assistance, but with no agreement reached.Earlier this morning, tensions arose in Kakuma refugee camp, where students were sent back from school while taking exams for the final term.
When I asked some parents in Kakuma about the same issue, one mother said, "I cannot send my children to school because after school there's nothing to eat." She added, "I am prepared to go back to South Sudan. It's better I die in my homeland than die of hunger in this refugee camp," she said with an alarming voice and traumatized expression.I moved to different corners across the camp, and some parents are against the idea of leaving children at home. One Ethiopian man said, "We should think about how to solve this issue through forums, but let our children finish their exams."
Image: The food Distribution Center set on fire by the protesters,
some business shops remained closed this morning. Other people who wanted to go for biometric registration couldn't manage because they feared for their lives. Those who were at the Food Distribution Center went with police escort in Kakuma.
This Friday, August 1, 2025, in Kakuma refugee camp, refugees will undergo the same process of collecting food for categories one and two. Given the situation in Kalobeyei Settlement camp, we are concerned that due to the fact that the person who was killed is from South Sudan, there could be a worse situation. We therefore ask the Government of Kenya, Kenya Police, GSU, UNHCR, and WFP for preventative action and emergency multi-stakeholder responses. "Prevention is better than cure; refugee lives matter."
The World Refugee Day theme for 2013 and 2014 was "One family torn apart by war is too many". This theme highlights the devastating impact of conflict on families and emphasizes the importance of providing safety and support to those forced to flee their homes. But due to the dire situation, killings, violence, and use of force against refugees, refugees now say "one refugee killed is too many."
Recommendations: If the food is not enough for all refugees, why not stop food distribution for a month and collect more to be able to distribute it in the next month so that everyone gets it? This was one of the responses from leaders
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