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Rwandan nationals suffer attacks but are reluctant to return home

Saturday April 23 2016
Lusaka

Looters in Bauleni township in Lusaka, Zambia, following xenophobic attacks that targeted Rwandan nationals. PHOTO | XINHUA

A wave of xenophobic attacks targeting Rwandan nationals in Zambia left hundreds of refugees in a state of limbo, with a majority of them reluctant to return home.

Zambian police arrested over 250 people linked to the attacks which began last Monday. Dozens of Rwandans are seeking refuge at their country’s High Commission compound and the St Ignatius Catholic Church in Lusaka.

The violence in which two people died also saw the looting of Rwandan-owned businesses, 62 shops destroyed by gangs of marauding youths and several cars set ablaze.

President Edgar Lungu condemned the attacks in which Zambians are accusing Rwandan nationals of being behind a spate of what has been described as ritual killings. Rwandan officials have dismissed the allegations as baseless and said that the Rwandans were mere scapegoats.

READ: Uneasy calm returns to Lusaka after two days of riots

ALSO READ: Lusaka mayhem victims reject transfer to refugee camps

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“We have, so far, 20 Rwandans taking refuge at the High Commission premises and the government of Zambia has promised to take swift action to address this concern,” said Abel Buhungu, Rwanda’s Charge d’Affaires in Zambia.

He confirmed that the violence was sparked by the alleged ritual murders but said there was no evidence linking the killings to Rwandan refugees. Mr Buhungu said that police in Zambia too confirmed the allegations against the Rwandans were baseless.

The killings were first reported in March when several bodies, mainly male, with body parts missing, were discovered in poor neighbourhoods of the city, and blamed on the Rwandan refugee community.

According to the police, about 11 people have been arrested in connection with the murders of at least seven people.

Refugee problem

According to the Minister of Disaster Preparedness and Refugee Affairs Seraphine Mukantabana, there are over 10,000 Rwandan refugees in Zambia, mainly those who fled after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi and are acknowledged by the Zambian government.

But Kigali maintains that Zambia is one of the African countries that still has hundreds of genocide suspects in hiding who it says should be repatriated to face justice. However, with only a few of the refugees registered, even those who are not genocide suspects are reluctant to return home.

“Through our embassy, we have been facilitating those who want to return home or to get proper documentation to do so, but we also recognise that there is another group which could have cases to answer in Rwanda and they are reluctant to return,” she said.

“It is therefore difficult to ascertain the exact number of Rwandans in that country, but the government through the embassy has expressed concern regarding the attacks,” she added.

The Rwandan government has been running a project dubbed “come and see” aimed at luring Rwandan refugees in southern African countries to voluntarily repatriate by funding trips to Rwanda for them to see first hand the progress the country has made through which Kigali hopes to persuade them to return permanently.

Ms Mukantabana said that there are institutions and mechanisms for repatriation even for those who fear that they will be prosecuted for their role or that of their parents in the genocide.

However, a majority of Rwandans in Zambia remain there for “economic reasons” with over 6,500 Rwandans running businesses in the capital Lusaka.

The success of Rwandan businesses and the improved standards of living they are enjoying has also been singled out as a point of friction between locals and refugee communities.

The Zambian Minster of Home Affairs Davies Mwila, called for calm and an end to the xenophobic attacks. “The anti-social and criminal conduct seen in the high density areas North and West of the city of Lusaka must come to an immediate end,” Mr Mwila said on the state broadcaster.

“We must all remain calm, support the police and isolate all those involved in these criminal activities. We must continue to uphold the law and avoid taking the law into our own hands,” he said.

Rwanda put into force the cessation clause in June 2013, affecting over 75,000 Rwandans refugees who were still scattered across the globe, mainly in Europe and southern African countries. Majority of them however remain reluctant to return home for economic reasons or fear of prosecution.

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