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Tanzania : camp closures delayed by one year

Several Burundian refugees including children in a meeting with Tanzanian authorities at Nduta camp in Tanzania (SOS Médias Burundi)

Burundian refugees have gained one more year before their camps are closed. The announcement was made by the Tanzanian Ministry of the Interior in charge of refugees after a visit to two large Burundian refugee camps located in northwestern Tanzania. INFO SOS Médias Burundi

A high-level delegation from the UNHCR and the Tanzanian government visited Burundian refugee camps last week.

The visit was made on Monday and Tuesday, January 27 and 28, respectively in the Nyarugusu and Nduta camps located in the Kigoma region in the northwest of the country.

UNHCR representatives in the Kasulu and Kibondo districts where these two camps are based, reassured refugees that with 2025, the situation will not get worse.

“Your prayers have been answered. The tripartite commission has extended the voluntary repatriation exercise by one year. After this period, we can move up a gear and perhaps close the camps,” they declared in turn.

This is one of the conclusions of a tripartite meeting between Tanzania, Burundi and the UNHCR held in Bujumbura, the commercial capital of Burundi, at the end of December 2024.

The meeting also recommended that Burundi prepare to receive at least three thousand refugees per month.

Refugees breathe a sigh of relief. They also cheered and seemed not to be interested in what comes next, according to a reporter from SOS Médias Burundi.
“Thank God in any case, we can celebrate this anniversary again. We continue to call on the international community to closely monitor the situation and persuade Tanzanian authorities to abandon this macabre and inhumane plan to close the camps,” reacts a community leader from zone 5 of the Nduta camp.

Sudi Mwakibasi relaxed…

On the ground in zone 10 of the Nyarugusu camp as in zone 5 of the Nduta camp where Burundian refugees had gathered, the famous Sudi Mwakibasi, permanent secretary at the Ministry of the Interior in charge of refugees, known for his sulphurous statements towards Burundian refugees, was, for once, lenient as Burundians have noted.

“He is known for his harsh language. But, curiously, he transformed himself into a parent giving lessons and advice, which seemed unusual to us,” says a refugee from the Nduta camp who listened to his speech.

Sudi Mwakibasi advised parents to educate their children well, instill in them the values ​​of patriotism and work, while preaching by good examples.

« These are the future generations who will build your country. Avoid encouraging them in criminal acts. And above all, do not accept that they are engaged in activities to destabilize your country, » he advised.

The current year is likely to be busy according to the program unveiled by this delegation in Nyarugusu and Nduta.

« There will be visits to Burundi by refugees from Tanzania and returnees from Burundi (go and see, come and tell), football matches that will oppose the two groups in Makamba (Burundi) and Kibondo (Tanzania) as well as awareness sessions on voluntary return, » the delegates stressed.

Even though the idea of ​​conducting individual interviews to determine the motives that pushed each refugee to flee Burundi remains, the delegation has not revealed when this exercise will take place. This leads Burundian refugees to believe that the UN has convinced Tanzania to release those who have sought asylum in this country in accordance with the 1951 Geneva Convention relating to the Protection of Refugees.

Tanzania remains the country that hosts most Burundian refugees in the sub-region. According to UNHCR figures as of December 31, 2024, this country has more than 104,000 Burundians. Most of them fled the 2015 crisis following another controversial term of the late President Pierre Nkurunziza the same year.