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Nduta (Tanzania) : controversial interviews worry Burundian refugees

SOS Médias Burundi

Nduta, May 8, 2025 – Tanzanian authorities, in collaboration with the UNHCR and the Burundian government, have launched a series of interviews with Burundian refugees in the camps. Officially intended to understand the obstacles to voluntary return, these surveys are perceived by the refugees as a screening exercise prior to expulsion. Testimonies describe a climate of intimidation, harassment, and increasing violence in the camps.

The Nduta camp in northwest Tanzania became the scene this week of an exercise described as « cynical » by several Burundian refugees.
Under the leadership of Tanzanian authorities and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), hundreds of people from four villages in Zone 15 are being summoned for in-depth interviews. The stated objective : « to find durable solutions » to their prolonged exile.

Ten offices have been set up to accommodate the refugees. They are subjected to a series of questions deemed « intrusive and destabilizing, » ranging from personal identification to their past political activities, their level of education, reasons for departure, possible legal proceedings, and assets owned in Burundi or in exile.

This model stems from a tripartite agreement signed last December between Tanzania, Burundi, and the UNHCR, intended to separate those who still require international protection from those « whose reasons for departure are no longer valid. »

Climate of fear and accusations of violence

But on the ground, mistrust is total.
Many refugees believe this operation is preparing for forced repatriation or the outright closure of the camps. « It’s a formality to get rid of us. Decisions have already been made. It’s just a stage, » says a refugee from Nduta.

Even more seriously, some denounce a climate of terror imposed by the very people conducting these interviews. « It’s the intelligence agents and local NGO leaders who threaten us at night, who force us to sign for return, who beat, rape, arrest, or torture those who resist, » accuses a group of refugees who wish to remain anonymous.

SOS Media Burundi has collected consistent testimonies reporting cases of harassment, arbitrary arrests, disturbing disappearances, and sexual violence perpetrated inside the camps. The alleged perpetrators are believed to be Tanzanian security agents or Burundian collaborators infiltrated into the humanitarian system.

Data leaks, lack of confidentiality, and resignation

Another concern : the lack of confidentiality during interviews. « We are asked very personal questions in front of people who have never respected us. We suspect our answers will be passed on to the Burundian government, » says a mother.

Faced with this climate of anxiety, some refugees prefer to repatriate on their own. « I saw three people bickering with the interviewers. They went straight to register for return, fearing an even worse decision, » confided a resident of Nduta.

During his recent visit to the camps, John Walioba Mwita, Inspector General for Refugees for the Kigoma region, where the Nduta and Nyarugusu refugee camps are located, made it clear that measures would follow this operation.
Among them : the end of the « return package » for returnees, forced return for those deemed ineligible for refugee status, and « limited protection » for a minority.

Call for international supervision

As interviews are scheduled to extend to the Nyarugusu camp next week, concerns are mounting. « If nothing is done, the camp closures, suspended in December, could become a reality, » refugees warn.

They are calling for the immediate suspension of the process or, failing that, impartial international supervision.

« Let independent experts conduct the interviews, not those who have been mistreating us for years, » they implore.

Tanzania is currently home to more than 104,000 Burundian refugees, most of whom have settled since the 2015 political crisis, triggered by another controversial term of the late President Pierre Nkurunziza.

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Burundian refugees in a meeting with Tanzanian authorities at the Nyarugusu camp (SOS Médias Burundi)