A group of about 100 Burundian refugees will leave Rwanda on Wednesday February 21 to return to their country. The refugees, many of whom fled their country in 2015 due to political instability, have voluntarily expressed the desire to return. The group includes 78 individuals from Mahama camp in Kirehe district, and more than 20 others from Kigali. ALSO READ: Triumph over tragedy: How Burundian female refugee secured financial stability in Rwanda On Wednesday morning, they will head to the Burundian border in Bugesera district, escorted by officials from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Rwanda, as they cross to their homeland. Mahama refugee camp was established in 2012 after an influx of Burundian refugees into Rwanda, as a result of the political instability that occurred in their country in the wake of an unsuccessful coup d’état against former President Pierre Nkurunziza. ALSO READ: Burundian officials in Rwanda for refugee repatriation campaign That year, the camp received more than 60,000 Burundian refugees. In 2020, they started to voluntarily return to their country. To date, more than 30,000 have returned. Currently, the camp hosts more than 40,000 Burundian refugees and more than 20,000 Congolese refugees. It also hosts some 29 others from countries like Sudan, Yemen and so on. Emmanuel Nzeyimana, one of the refugees that are returning to Burundi, told The New Times that their decision was informed by information they gathered from their counterparts regarding the situation in the areas where they lived. “After talking to someone there, I decided to go because I think I can also go and live there in peace,” he said. On the contrary, there are some refugees who said they are still skeptical of the situation because they know some counterparts who returned but ended up being tortured or killed. There have been cases of torture against people who have returned. I am not planning to go back, said one refugee.
