Kenya’s Shirika Plan: Theory or Path to Action?
Reflections on the Path Forward with Ochan Leomoi
In Kenya, the fifth-largest refugee-hosting country in Africa and the thirteenth-largest asylum country worldwide,most refugees have spent over 30 years in camps as a result of the Encampment Policy, which restricts refugees and asylum seekers to designated areas. The policy has historically been justified by the government on grounds of national security. On the other hand, human rights organizations and civil society have consistently called for refugee law and policy to be reformed to better reflect the welfare, rights, and freedoms of refugees.
The Shirika Plan, launched by the Government of Kenya in March 2025, seeks to remedy that, reflecting the country’s commitment to inclusion within its national development agenda. This multi-year, government-led initiative seeks to promote the socioeconomic inclusion of refugees by transforming camps into integrated settlements for both refugees and host communities.
Aligned with the Kenya Refugees Act (2021) and the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) (2018), the Plan aims to strengthen economic inclusion, boost self-reliance, and foster integration between refugees and host communities, encompassing key sectors such as education, health, livelihoods, social protection, and environmental management.
Ochan Leomoi, Academic and Research Manager at the Dadaab Response Association (DRA), views the Shirika Plan as more than just a theoretical framework. According to him, it is a “useful theory which needs to be activated into practices so that both refugees and their hosting communities can benefit.” The Plan aims to transform refugee hosting areas into thriving economic hubs, enabling both the refugee and host residents to fully leverage their skills and social networks once policies allow. According to Ochan, the Shirika Plan addresses core challenges which are identified in the GCR, with a focus on integration, resilience, and self-reliance, while bridging social and economic gaps by connecting refugees to essential services such as education, health, clean water, and housing.
"In my view, Shirika Plan is coming at the right time when the Sustainability Goal which is echoed on the Kampala declaration are being implemented"
However, Ochan also highlights some of the criticisms surrounding the Plan. He notes that perceptions among refugee communities and Refugee-Led Organizations (RLOs) are mixed; some host community members view it as an initiative that could increase competition for jobs, particularly given the high unemployment rates among host populations. Others see the Plan as limiting resettlement opportunities, and some fear it could be used to as hype to show that government wants to offer greater inclusion for refugees, yet this may not happen immediately, as the government needs to accelerate policy reviews and amendments to ensure refugees can see the full benefits of these plans.
Ochan further points out that many pressing issues raised by refugees, such as free movement, access to government services, the brutal categorization of refugees through the Differentiated Assistance (DA) model, legal documentation, recognition of refugee documents, rights of children born in Kenya, and the situation of refugees married to Kenyan citizens, are not adequately addressed in the Plan. In his view, there is a need to review and update the Plan to better reflect these concerns, making it more inclusive and responsive to the communities it’s meant to serve.
Ochan, who is also a member of R-SEAT's Kenya Core Group, reflected on Meaningful Refugee Participation (MRP) during the Plan’s development and implementation. He emphasized that while tokenism is common, MRP occurs when refugee representatives from across the designated areas are consistently included at the table for decisions that affect them. For Ochan:
"Refugee Led Organizations are the grassroot eyes of all agencies because they live within the communities, interact with the communities and attend to the issues affecting them all times."
Ochan Leomoi (panelist) (second from the left) during the panel on November 4 2025, convened by R-SEAT, ReDSS, the R-SEAT Kenya Core Group, and AMADPOC in Nairobi to discuss how to operationalize refugee participation, from participation rhetoric to practice within Kenya’s Shirika Plan.
Thus, it is crucial that the Government of Kenya works hand in hand with refugees, actively involving them in decision-making and solutions that affect their communities as "ignoring the RLOs participation means refusing to address the real causes of the problems affecting the communities." Ochan emphasizes.
Decisions can only be effective and sustainable when refugees themselves are actively involved in shaping the solutions.
Ochan Leomoi is a teacher, researcher, and advocate at heart. A Ugandan refugee who has lived in Kenya since 1987, Ochan’s journey is one of resilience, purpose, and dedication to education. Today, Ochan serves as the Academic and Research Manager at the Dadaab Response Association (DRA), an organization under the African Higher Education in Emergency Network (AHEEN), a network that brings together institutions such as Nairobi University, Kenyatta University, Juba University (South Sudan), City University (Somalia), Hope University (Burundi), and Stellenbosch University (South Africa). DRA’s mission is to bridge the gap between policy and lived experience through community-led research. They empower refugees and host communities to co-create localized solutions that drive sustainable change and lasting impact.
You can learn more about Ochan and DRA's work here: https://www.ddbra.org/, https://doi.org/10.5334/jime.875 and https://carleton.ca/lerrn/learn-with-lerrn/publications/
To learn more about the work of R-SEAT's Kenya Core Group, please reach out to jean.ishimwe@refugeesseat.org, and read our Framework for Inclusive Decision-Making and Governance in Kenya’s Shirika Plan.