Sifa Manzi is a Congolese refugee who was born and raised in the former Gihembe camp located in Gicumbi District. She still lives here with her family and other few people while others were relocated in Mahama Refugee Camp last year. The government of Rwanda, together with UNHCR and other partners decided to relocate refugees in this camp after the area was badly damaged by disasters which left them vulnerable. In an interview with The New Times, Manzi said that apparently, they don’t have where they belong systematically which makes their case unique and complicated to be evacuated like others. “In the system, we are neither Congolese refugees nor are we recognised as Rwandans…so we were told we belong nowhere,” she said. Asked on how they used to get facilities before the camp was evacuated, she said they never got any reason to suspect that anything was amiss in their documents because everything seemed normal. “We always received what meant for us such as food rations, access to health services and education as other refugees until last year but we’ve reported our case and they promised to work on it,” she added. Ronald Mwine, the area cell executive secretary said that they are aware of the issue and revealed that they are five families composed of 25 people who are still in Gihembe and their cases are being fixed. “Some of them have Rwandese ID others never registered in UNHCR yet they lived in the camp for long but on their concern, all related institution on the district is working on to fix it,” he explained. Commenting on what is being done, he said that together with UNHCR and the immigration officers at the district level have approached them and together they agreed that they declare themselves as refugees. “Those who have IDs they were advised to return them back for those who want and registered as the refugees so that they can join others in Mahama camp,” he added. Gihembe was established in the late 1990s and thousands who are born here are already adults who have also started their own families. However, an interview with The New Times, Elise Villechalane, the UNHCR spokesperson and external relations officer in Kigali, said that as far as they knew, all people registered as refugees have been evacuated. She said that the only people they know are some 12 families that chose to stay out of the camp and live in the urban areas but are still under protection of the refugee agency. “The rest who are registered under UNHCR as refugees were all evacuated in September and in October the camp was closed,” she said. However, she said despite the closure of the Gicumbi-based camp, they remain present in Rwanda and all persons eligible as asylum seekers and refugees in Rwanda can approach them for guidance and support. added that there is still a UNHCR post in Gicumbi and those families may register as refugees and still have access to all facilities the UN agency provides if they want to do so. “During the time of relocation, the registered refugee families had two options; the possibility to settle in different cities while others evacuate to Mahama camp and at least 99 percent of them relocated,” she explained The camp Gihembe refugee camp has for long been characterized by life-threatening landslides situation was even more alarming during the rainy season. Following the full closure of Gihembe camp in October last year through the Green Gicumbi program they started to plant the trees and make terraces The New Times has learned. Based in Kirehe District, Mahama camp was initially occupied by Burundian after they fled their country following skirmishes that followed a botched coup d’état in 2015 but most of them have since repatriated.
