Voices from the Forums: Kakuma’s transition to a municipality - aligning systems with ambition

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What does it actually mean for Kakuma to become a municipality?

In Kakuma and Kalobeyei in north-western Kenya, this question sits at the centre of an ongoing transition. Together, the two settlements host more than 306,000 refugees, alongside host communities and pastoralist populations in Turkana County.

For decades, Kakuma functioned primarily through a camp-based humanitarian system. This began to shift with the introduction of Kenya’s Refugee Act 2021, which provides a legal framework for including refugees within national systems such as education, health, and local governance.

Under the SHIRIKA Plan, the Government of Kenya is now taking this a step further. The plan sets out a multi-year approach to move from camp-based assistance toward integrated settlements, where refugees and host communities are part of shared systems and local economies.

The direction is clear. The focus is on inclusion, local governance, and longer-term planning. Yet the transition raises an important question. How does a place governed as a refugee camp begin to function as a municipality?

This question surfaced clearly during the first Participatory Forum held in Kakuma on 11 February 2026, convened by the Youth Voices Community. Around forty participants gathered, including refugee and host community leaders, county and municipal officials, representatives from the national government, including from the Department of Refugee Services, civil society organisations, and media. The discussions moved between reviewing evidence, reflecting on lived experience, and identifying priorities for action.

A transition underway, but not always visible

For refugees living in Kakuma, the idea of becoming part of a municipality remains difficult to translate into experience. Early in the discussion, a refugee participant captured this uncertainty: “We hear about the SHIRIKA Plan and Kakuma municipality, but what are they really?”

 While policies promote self-reliance and economic participation, many refugees described how life continues to be shaped by camp-based systems — particularly around documentation, movement and access to opportunities. As another refugee participant put it, “The people of Kakuma need to feel that Kakuma has become a municipality.”

For municipal and county officials, the challenge is not the absence of policy, but how different systems interact. Several described working within overlapping frameworks that do not always align in practice. One official reflected on this gap, noting the need to “make the policies speak in one language,” pointing to the disconnect between national ambitions and how systems function on the ground.

Education and livelihoods remain central, but not yet aligned

For both refugee and host community members, there was a sense that education is central to what a municipality should provide and enable, particularly as a pathway to self-reliance. However, the conditions needed to support this are still catching up. As one participant explained, “School fees are not affordable for many families, both refugee and host. Both learners and teachers are often not in the right psychological space for learning.” Host community members raised questions about access, pressure on services, and how resources are distributed.

Opportunities to learn are also expanding, but the link to employment is not always clear. “Why am I learning this? Where will I use it?”one youth refugee participant asked.

Some refugees spoke about starting businesses or farming, showing a willingness to engage in the local economy.  However, there is a surge of entrepreneurship that has not been matched by the community's purchasing power. As one participant asked, “When everyone opens a business, who buys?”

The building blocks are in place, but stronger links between education, livelihoods, and local markets will be key to making the municipality model work in practice.

Mobility and participation shape access to opportunity

Mobility was raised most strongly by refugee participants, and sits at the centre of what a functioning municipality would need to enable. Even where people gain skills or try to pursue work, practical barriers often stand in the way. Refugees described delays in obtaining identification documents, restrictions on movement, and everyday obstacles such as roadblocks and informal payments. “When you are told you can move across the country, it gives you hope… but the barriers are many,” one participant explained.

At the same time, questions around participation came up across the forum. Refugees, in particular, asked how they can engage more meaningfully in decision-making processes. “Is there a structured way, clear channels, that refugees can participate in decision making?” one participant asked.

Within the forum, the “Parking Lot” tool provided one way to support this. It allowed participants to direct questions to decision-makers in real time, creating space for more direct exchange on issues such as documentation, mobility, and representation. For officials, it also offered a clearer view of how policies are experienced in practice and increased trust among the parties

What needs to happen next

As Kakuma moves toward the next Participatory Forum, the question is no longer whether the transition will happen, but how it will be made real and for whom.

For refugees, the shift toward a municipality is experienced as partial,  an expectation of self-reliance without full access to the systems that would make it possible.  

For host communities, the transition raises questions about shared resources and inclusion.  

For officials, it presents the challenge of aligning policies with practice.

Kakuma is not lacking ambition or policy direction. The shift toward a municipality is underway, and there is a shared understanding of what it could enable. As one official reflected, there is a need to “make the policies speak in one language.”

Read more about LLEARN Participatory forums here