Refugees decry closure of Kisoro holding centre

Hundreds of Congolese refugees have decried the closure of Nyakabande refugee holding centre in Kisoro District, saying it has forced them to trek back to their country yet the security situation is still fragile.

Majority, who were on Sunday seen trekking back to their country, told the Monitor that they should have been transported back to the border.

The government effective October 31 closed Nyakabande refugee holding centre with a view to transferring all refugees to settlement camps in western Uganda.

“Now that the Ugandan government has decided to close the Nyakabande refugee holding centre where we have been accommodated, why can’t the UNHCR [United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees] provide us with means of transport at least from the holding centre to Bunagana border post where they picked us from?” a Jeannette Bavakure, one of the refugees, wondered.

 “Leaving us to trek a distance of about 13kms while carrying luggage on our heads is not fair,” she added.

But the UNHCR communications officer in Uganda, Mr Frank Walusimbi, said they were not facilitating repatriation of refugees.

 “We cannot send people back to an area whose security situation is fragile and unpredictable. Our appeal is for all asylum seekers to accept relocation to settlements where they can get full protection,” Mr Walusimbi said.

Kisoro Resident District Commissioner Hajj Shafiq Ssekandi on Monday confirmed the closure of Nyakabande refugee holding centre, saying it is only the transit centre that shall remain open to receive refugees where they will be screened before they are immediately transported to the settlement camps in western Uganda.

“The Nyakabande refugee holding centre, which is located next to the Nyakabande refugee transit centre in Kisoro District, is now vacant. Fresh asylum seekers shall only be accommodated at the transit centre for a few days after which they will be transported to the settlement camps in western Uganda,” he said.

“The holding centre has been closed because the government no longer has the funds to provide the necessities to asylum seekers that can be well catered for in the settlement camps,” Hajji Ssekandi added.

Thousands of Congolese asylum seekers have been accommodated at Nyakabande refugee holding centre since March when fighting erupted between the M23 rebels and the Congolese government forces.

The total population at the refugee transit centre stands at 2,466 individuals. About 707 Congolese refugees that had been staying at the Nyakabande holding centre on Sunday returned to their home country. A total of 14,125 others that have been camping in Bunagana Town Council because of the fresh fighting have also returned back home.

Those returning back to their home country are optimistic that peace will soon prevail while others said they were tired of staying in refugee camps.

Hajj Ssekandi said preparations were underway to transport about 647 Congolese refugees from Nyakabande transit centre to Nakivale refugee settlement camp in Isingiro District because they willingly accepted refugee status.

 call by m23 rebels

The spokesperson of the M23 rebels, Maj Willy Ngoma, on Friday appealed to the Congolese nationals that had crossed into Uganda because of fresh fighting to return back home because the area was peaceful. “I appeal to the fleeing Congolese nationals to return back home. These are our relatives and fellow countrymen that we must protect and provide a conducive environment for the children to study and those doing farming to do it without being disturbed,” he said in a telephone interview with Daily Monitor.

“They should not allow to be taken to settlement camps in Uganda because their home area is now secure under our leadership,” Maj Ngoma added.

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