A group of 3,292 Congolese refugees has been relocated from Kigeme and Gihembe refugee camps to the Kirehe based Mahama camp, the Ministry of Emergency Management has said, citing looming landslides. Government said the move aims at protecting the wellbeing of refugees and conserving the environment among others. Based in Nyamagabe District, Kigeme refugee camp is on the hilly topography of the Southern Province, an area that is currently deemed highly prone to landslides among other environmental disasters. This is the same case for Gihembe camp in the Northern Province. In addition to securing the wellbeing of refugees, the government says that the relocation is in line with mitigating environmental degradation in and around refugee camps. The relocation targets refugees in high-risk zone, the ministry told The New Times in an email response. The New Times understands that the move has triggered mixed responses from refugees with some of them citing potential difficulties of starting a new upon relocation. Some refugees have reportedly refused to relocate, saying that they had established businesses and rapport with their respective communities. However, with the latest weather prediction pointing to above normal rainfall, ranging between 450 and 550 millimetres in some parts of the country, including the two areas, concerns have emerged that this could potentially lead to loss of lives. “The number of refugees to be relocated will depend on ongoing assessments in camps,” reads part of the response. Kigeme camp hosts over 18,000 refugees who over time fled from armed conflicts fuelled by militia groups in eastern DR Congo. Before the latest repatriation, Mahama camp—the country’s largest refugee camp hosted over 44,000 Burundians who left their country in the midst of civil unrest triggered by late President Pierre Nkurunziza’s bid for a third term in office. By November 2020, official data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Rwanda hosted around 77,000 refugees from DR Congo, and 71,000 refugees from Burundi amongst others, in camps and urban centres.
