Hundreds of Rwandan returnees and people perceived to be Rwandans are returning to Rwanda as Tanzanian authorities continue to expel immigrants without proper documentation.

By press time, over 7,000 people had crossed into Rwanda fearing for their lives following a directive issued by President Jakaya Kikwete on July 26 giving a two-week ultimatum to all non-Tanzanians to leave or be forcefully evicted.

READ: Tanzania sends Rwandans home, relations sour further

There are about 20,000 Rwandan refugees in Ngara district, Kagera province in the northern part of Tanzania. Over 9, 000 of the immigrants have already left Tanzania following the expiring of the ultimatum.

Over 4, 000 the returnees crossed the Rusumo border into Rwanda where they were received at the Kigarama transit camp before the Rwandan government could relocate them to a temporary camp, while those with relatives and families were resettled.

Naturalised Tanzanians

Most of the returnees who possess Tanzanian naturalisation documents speak of the untold suffering they were subjected to by Tanzanian security agents as well as natives as soon as the declaration was made by President Kikwete.

Petero Karake, 50, who had lived in Biharamuro for more than 30 years and possessed valid naturalisation certificates, said that they were threatened by their neighbours who said they were working on the directive.

“All of a sudden our neighbours turned against us. There is a lot of animosity among the Tanzanians who claimed that we had taken their land. I fled with nothing. I parted with my family. I don’t even know where they are,” Karake said.

Most of the returnees possess documents which would have guaranteed them a right to remain in Tanzania but they were told the documents do not count. The returnees also include men and women who were married to Tanzanians.

Odette Uwizeyemariya had been married to a Tanzanian man since 1972, bearing 13 children and has 8 grandchildren. Having left Rwanda in 1970, she only has a vague idea of where her family lived.

“I was told all my parents passed away and my brothers were killed during the war. In 2007 I came and tried to claim my family properties in vain. Now I am here, I know I entirely belong to the Rwandan government. It will decide what to do with me,” the 54 year old said.

With one of her orphaned grandchildren, Ms Uwizeyemariya who was born in the current Gisagara district in southern province could not narrate the pain she passed through before eventually sitting down with her family and agreed that she leaves to spare her life.

“They were all sorts of rumours that we would be killed and that even if we hid in the forests we would be hunted down. Now even if I die today, I will have no one to bury me when I have a family of close to 30 people,” the woman said.

Petero Sinahave, 81 says he moved to Tanzania as a teenager in the 1940’s and married a Tanzanian woman in Gitwe area. He had lived there all his life until the government decided to expel aliens who also include Burundians, Ugandans and Congolese.

Mr Sinahave does not remember where his family lived in the current Rwanda, having left before the colonial days.

Tanzania says the returnees are coming back voluntarily and that it was a consensus that they leave, the country having been hospitable enough to give them time to live on its soil until their respective countries returned to normalcy.

READ: Dar defends move to expel Rwandans

Authorities in Rwanda have said that Tanzanian authorities acted before communicating with their Rwandan counterparts.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs Louise Mushikiwabo says that Tanzania’s actions are regrettable but said that Rwanda will do what is within its means to contain the influx.

Rwanda cries foul

However the Governor of the Eastern Province Odette Uwamariya told Rwanda Today that the Kagera province had an agreement with its Rwandan neighbour (Eastern Province) to first discuss the expulsions and get a way to go about it.

“We now actually have Tanzanian citizens who were mistaken to be Rwandans and they were threatened forcing them to leave. They are now stranded here having nowhere to go and this is something that could have been avoided,” Ms Uwamariya said.

Emmanuel Maherane, who works with the Tanzanian immigration office at the Rusumo border told journalists that the decision to expel the aliens was “internal” and called for no discussions between the countries.

According to Bernard Ndayambaje Placide, the officer in charge of refugees in the Ministry of Disaster Management and Refugee affairs, most of the returnees abandoned their property while some lost contact with their family members.

“The first batch came in on August 5, even before the deadline had expired. The ones we have right now who crossed through Rusumo are 5,442 but there are others who crossed from other points. We have been able to link up over 1, 500 with their relatives or friends. The ones you see in the camp are those with no place to go yet,” Mr Ndayambaje.

Tanzania’s decision to expel Rwandans has been linked to an ongoing diplomatic impasse between the Kigali and Dar es Salaam stemming from President Kikwete’s advise to Rwanda to hold talks with its enemies inside DR Congo.

During a closed door meeting in Addis Ababa in May, President Kikwete urged Rwanda and Uganda governments to engage in talks with the rebels fighting them namely the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) and Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) who are based in Eastern DRC.

The Tanzanian leader said that would be the only solution to lasting peace in Eastern DRC. Rwanda, however, is said to have reacted angrily to President Kikwete’s advice. The FDLR is mainly made up of elements responsible for the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

Rwandan officials including President Paul Kagame have expressed their disappointment with the Tanzanian leader since the May 26 remarks the Ethiopian capital, but Tanzania did not react until August 2 during a state address by the president.

It is not the first time Tanzania has expelled Rwandans. Thousands were expelled in 2004 and 2007. There were several other expulsions in the past targeting Rwandan pastoralists in Tanzania.