The applicants were Somali nationals seeking asylum in Kenya due to security risks in their home country, had their asylum request denied by the court. The court based its decision on several grounds:
(1) Executive Orders prohibited the registration of their refugee status;
(2) the applicants failed to demonstrate an intention to seek asylum before being arrested and convicted for unlawful residence in Kenya;
(3) seeking asylum could not alter existing deportation orders from a competent court; and
(4) asylum-seeking is primarily an administrative matter, and the applicants should have initially approached administrative units before turning to the court.
Asylum seeker, illegal foreigner, deportation.
The applicants contended that they were seeking asylum in Kenya and requested the court to issue a stay on the deportation order, allowing them to proceed to a refugee camp for processing of their refugee status.
The application was dismissed.
The court held that the issue raised was purely administrative not legal in nature.