Burundi refugees shun voluntary repatriation

KAMPALA, Uganda

Burundian refugees in Uganda have tasked the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Burundi government to assure them of peace and security before repatriating them back home.

The refugees, who were meeting the UNHCR officials and delegates from Burundi at Nakivale Settlement Camp last Friday, alleged that their colleagues, who had returned home since December 2022, under voluntary repatriation, faced challenges, including political persecution and limited access to social services like health and education.

“There is a youth group, the Imbonerakure, that tortures and abducts people. Some of our colleagues who returned were abducted and up to now, we don’t know where they are,” Mr Ahmed Amin Nduwumwami, a refugee, said.

Mr Felician Habomugisa, another refugee, said those who went back home face livelihood challenges, a situation that forces some of them to return to the settlement camps.

“In settlement camps, a refugee’s life is better. We access health and education services, and we engage in farming and earn money,” she said.

The acting commissioner for refugees in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), Mr Douglas Asiimwe, said there are more than 40,000 Burundi refugees in Uganda but most of them have refused to embrace the voluntary repatriation exercise despite the current peace in their home country.

“We are looking for solutions to the refugee problem because this should be temporary and we believe the situation in Burundi is now different and conducive for the refugees to return. They have concerns but we believe by engaging them with their leaders, they will accept to return home voluntarily,” he said.

Mr Asiimwe said the Ugandan government, UNHCR and the Burundian government signed a tripartite voluntary repatriation agreement in 2013 to have all Burundian refugees return home starting 2020, but many refugees have declined the offer.

“In the agreement, there is an element of monitoring returnees at some point. We will visit and see how the returnees have settled in,” he said.

He noted that despite the repatriation exercise, a number of Burundian refugees have come back alleging political persecution and livelihood challenges.

“With these visits, we shall be able to establish if these allegations are true and we see how to handle them administratively,” he said.

The Burundi director general for repatriation and reintegration, Mr Nestor Mimenyimana, refuted the allegations and welcomed the idea of the UNHCR and government of Uganda officials visiting the country to assess the situation of repatriated Burundians.

“There is now peace in Burundi and the living conditions have greatly improved. We are in total agreement with this resolution. Let the team come and verify, this will help us in sensitisation and helping these people return home and be part of nation building,” he said.