By AGGREY MUTAMBO

Kenya will seek to lobby for the repatriation of Somali refugees and campaign for a seat at the UN Security Council when regional leaders converge in Nairobi on Wednesday for a security meeting.

A diplomat at the Foreign Affairs ministry said the hosting of Somali refugees has become an unbearable “burden” and that the government would lobby for the region to take a “common stand” on the issue.

“It is in Kenya’s interest that we don’t have regional conflicts because we are a trading nation. If we have peace and stability in the region, it means we can trade more,” Mr Ken Vitisia the Director of the Office of the Great Lakes Region at the ministry, told reporters on July 25

But Kenya’s new push is likely to face opposition because it comes after the High Court on Friday stopped the government from moving refugees living in urban areas back to the camps.

Last December the government issued a directive that all refugees in urban areas should be rounded up and assembled at the Thika Municipal Stadium for transport to the refugee camps.

But Justice David Majanja ruled on Friday that the directive was neither fair nor reasonable because it was it was made in disregard of the refugees’ rights.

Regional leaders are expected in Nairobi from Monday ahead of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) meeting on July 31, whose key agenda will be regional security.

But Kenya hopes this convergence will provide a permanent solution to internal wars affecting several countries in this part of the continent as well as the attendant crisis that comes with those skirmishes.

“If the region speaks with one voice, the international community will listen to what the region wants to happen in Somalia, for example. This is an opportunity for us to say, ‘This is the position of the region and let us talk about it.’

“Our involvement in Somalia has been a burden, both in terms of refugees and our presence militarily. It is very important that we find a common ground on this problem,” he said.

The July 31 meeting is expected to see more than 11 heads of state arrive in Nairobi to address conflicts in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic and the one between Sudan and South Sudan. Somalia, though not a member of ICGLR, will also be discussed because its instability has affected the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes Region

Leaders from Uganda, which currently chairs the summit, Burundi, Tanzania, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Central African Republic, Zambia and Sudan are expected to attend.

Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe and Egypt are also expected to send representatives as well as Poland and Brazil (which are observer states).

Kenya will seek to be enjoined in the negotiations aimed at solving the DRC crisis that pits the government with rebels. According to the tentative programme, the conference, to be held at the Windsor Hotel, will also seek to resolve the persistent conflict over oil between Sudan and South Sudan.

“Kenya may also use the summit to informally seek support for a common regional position on Somalia. With all the presidents here, we will inform them what we are doing in Somalia and how the region can come together to assist Somalia.”