The Foreign & Diaspora Affairs CS Musalia Mudavadi, has on Wednesday October 9, appeared before the Senate to speak concerning his docket. Mudavadi who is also Kenya’s Prime Cabinet Secretary, further revealed that the government has programmed Ksh100 million for evacuation of Kenyans still stuck in Lebanon currently infested with war.
While beseeching Kenyans still stuck in Lebanon to co-oporate with the government, Mudavadi further confirmed that the state has also set aside a special committee in his Ministry whose key role is to work closely with the security with other agencies to ensure the evacuation exercise is rolled down successfully with the provided funds.
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Despite the need for Kenyan government to act upon the cries received from about 26,000 Kenyans working and living in Lebanon as showcased by some viral posts made by them, Mudavadi said that only a surprising figure of about 1,500 registered when the government first called on Kenyans stuck in the country to register for the evacuation journey.
He expressed his shock and irony concerning the least response the state has received despite Kenyans in Lebanon calling intervention from the state, saying, “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.”
The CS also explained why it took the state very long to offer intervention. He pined out a number of challenges that contributed to that, including most Kenyans failing to register voluntarily.
“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.”
Mudavadi’s response before the Senate comes two days after the Office of the Kenyan Ombudsman (the Commission on Administrative Justice) gave the PS Diaspora Affairs a 7-day ultimatum to clear the air and provide intervention measures for Kenyans still stuck in war-torn, Lebanon