Thousands of street families flooding the streets across the country could be from neighbouring countries.

Labour and Social Protection Cabinet Secretary Alfred Mutua said the government will repatriate foreign individuals and assist local street families return to their communities and access education.

“We are working on that so that we can get them sent back home to their countries and those that are here can be taken back to the countryside where they come from and be taken to school,” he said.

For instance, a 2007 study estimated that there were between 250,000 and 300,000 families living and working on the streets across the country, with more than 60,000 of them in Nairobi. However, the 2019 national census reported indicating that at least 20,095 Kenyans were homeless, with Nairobi accounting for 6,743 individuals. Speaking during a recruitment in Roysambu on Wednesday, Dr Mutua said the ministry, through the Street Families Rehabilitation Trust Fund, is collaborating with the ministries of Interior and Foreign Affairs to ensure a smooth rehabilitation.

“We are undertaking a census; we are just waiting for budgetary allocation so that we can have a breakdown not only of identifying which ones are Kenyans and those who are not but also where they come from in Kenya,” he said.

Mutua said a census will be conducted aimed at providing appropriate living conditions and reintegrating street individuals into society. “We are reworking the rehabilitation and identification of street families.”