Refugees stranded in Isingiro
Congolese refugees at the reception centre in Nakivale wait for verification and allocation of land recently. Nakivale is one of the biggest refugee host. File photo
What you need to know:
Horns locked. The more than 1,600 refugees fleeing insecurity in DR Congo have fallen victims of endless land stand-offs between government and locals resisting relocation.
More than 1,600 Congolese refugees in Nakivale Settlement Camp in Isingiro District, who arrived a couple of months ago, are still crowded at the reception centre because locals have refused to vacate the land on which they are supposed to be settled.
This was disclosed by the camp commandant, Mr Godfrey Byaruhanga, during a visit to the area by the Minister for Disaster Preparedness and Refugees, Dr Stephen Mallinga, last week.
Impasse
“As we talk now, we have more than 1,600 new refugee entrants from DR Congo but the problem is land where to allocate them. Much of the resettlement has been occupied by the local population and efforts to evict them are met with hostility,” Mr Byaruhanga said.
He added: “This week we tried to evict more than 300 locals from Rubondo Village but we met strong resistance from machete-armed residents.”
Mr Morshed Anwar, the head of Sub-office United Nations High Commission for Refugees, Mbarara, expressed concern that the matter needs to be resolved so that the increasing number of refugees from DR Congo can be accommodated.
“As an international community we are concerned. This matter should be resolved soon because as we talk now there are other 700 Congolese refugees in Kisoro to be relocated to this place,” Mr Morshed said.
What govt says
Mr Mallinga said the problem will be solved soon but did not specify how and when.
“We have already made resolutions and recommendations of this issue of locals occupying government land and this problem will be resolved soon. You should not be worried with where to allocate these refugees,” he said.
The minister added that as more refugees continue to come into the country, the government will think of creating more refugee camps.
“We are thinking of allocating other government land as refugee camps if the number of refugees continues to surge as it is now. Some of the refugee camps like Oruchinga (also in Isingiro) are already full to capacity,” Mr Mallinga said.
The Western Region Refugee Desk Officer, Mr Walter Omondi, said since July last year, they have received more than 3,000 refugees from DR Congo alone.
The new Congolese arrivals said they were getting one meal a day but the officials said refugees are supplied with more food after screening and verifying them. Mr Mallinga said they should be given two meals.
Land feud
There are more than 300 native families claiming land inside the settlement. Some went and acquired land titles although government said the titles are invalid. Nakivale is 85 Square kilometres and has a population of approximately 50,000 refugees, majority Congolese.
