KAKUMA REFUGEE CAMP AND KALOBEYEI SETTLEMENT
Kakuma refugee camp is located in Turkana County, Turkana West sub-county, in the North-western region of Kenya which is approximately 754.5 kilometres from Nairobi by road. The camp was established in 1992 to accommodate the “Lost Boys of Sudan” who fled Sudan to Ethiopia then to Kakuma. It was also meant to accommodate a large group of Ethiopian refugees who fled their country for fear of persecution. The camp has two areas of operation, the Kakuma Refugee Camp and the Kalobeyei Integrated Settlement. The Kakuma Camp itself is divided into four areas namely: Kakuma 1, 2, 3 and 4 while Kalobeyei settlement which is located 20 kilometres from Kakuma town and comprises of 3 villages: Village 1, 2 and 3.
Initially, the camp was constructed to accommodate 90,000 refugees and asylum seekers. However, as at 30 June 2022, an influx of new arrivals in 2014 led to Kakuma surpassing its capacity by over 58,000 persons. This led to congestion in various sections of the camps. The national government through the Department of Refugee Affairs-DRA (Currently Department of Refugee Services-DRS) led negotiated with the County Government of Turkana and the host community, leading to land being surrendered for the construction of a new Kalobeyei settlement 20km from Kakuma town.