1818709 (Refugee)

The applicant sought review of a decision by the Refugee Tribunal to affirm the refusal of a protection visa. The applicant, a member of the Kalenjin clan in Kenya, claimed to fear persecution due to a historical clash with the Kikuyu clan, exacerbated by the sale of family land.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the applicant had a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, as defined by the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). This required the court to consider whether the applicant would suffer serious harm, whether the fear of persecution was for an essential and significant reason, and whether effective protection measures were available in Kenya.

The Tribunal found the applicant lacked credibility and therefore did not establish a well-founded fear of persecution. The court noted that the applicant did not satisfy the criterion in s.36(2) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) by being a member of the same family unit as a person who held a protection visa. The Tribunal's decision to affirm the refusal of the protection visa was upheld.