By Alex Gahima
At least 1000 Congolese were yesterday relocated from Nyakabande Transit Camp in Kisoro district to Nakivale Settlement Camp in Isingiro district.
The move comes at a time when the transit and holding camp in Nyakabande had reached a population of 16, 475, a new record high.
Acting Commissioner for Refugees in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) Douglas Asiimwe says the move is timely because the camp at Nyakabande needed to be de- congested.
Asiimwe says the camp still has capacity to handle up to 20,000 people and preparations have been made in case such eventualities are to happen.
He further explained that in the coming weeks, more Congolese who have voluntarily expressed interest for refugee status will be relocated from Nyakabande further inland into Uganda.
A total of three Convoys consisting of 16 buses will ferry up to 3000 Congolese weekly from Kisoro to Nakivale Settlement camp.
Asiimwe says the relocation exercise of the Congolese at Nyakabande has solely been based on the asylum seeker’s interest to seek refuge status and first impression, also known as prima facie.
A 2018 report titled Refuge Status Determination, states that a prima facie determination means that an asylum seeker is given refugee status on the basis of their nationality and without having to go through an individual determination of whether they met the definition of a refugee under the law.
Asylum seekers can obtain prime facie status generally when the circumstances in their home country continues to lead people to flee, indicative of conditions for refugee status.1
” After nearly a month long period of waiting for the situation in eastern DRC to improve, some of the Congolese have come to their own realization that the war is far from over and they would rather move on with their lives than remain in a state of despair”, Asiimwe explained.
Asiimwe says the Government and other Non- Governmental Organizations need to increase financially support towards the Congolese crisis in Kisoro and Kasese where many Congolese are still living among host communities cause a strain on the existing resources for the communities.
Yesterday’s relocation offers a new beginning for some Congolese who expressed with deep emotion, that moving further inland into Uganda is a difficult one but necessary.
Many of them have vowed to return back home if and when the war ever comes to an end.
Earlier this week, D.R Congo President Félix Tshisekedi arrived in Nairobi for a second time in one month to attend a mini- summit on regional security bringing together leaders including current EAC chairman Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, Paul Kagame of Rwanda and President Évariste Ndayishimiye (Burundi)
Fighting between M23 rebels and Congo Government forces has died down however security experts have warned of heavy deployment which has continued to scare Congolese forcing them to flee into Uganda.
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