DRC refugees, asylum seekers hit Botswana
The Ministry of Defence, Justice and Security has raised a concern over the recent wave of asylum seekers and refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) seeking refuge in Botswana. Although the country ensures that scores of refugees and asylum seekers in search of refuge in Botswana are taken care of, the increase in the number of refugees and asylum seekers from DRC worries the defence ministry. The ministry’s acting Permanent Secretary, Botlhale Makgekgenene expressed the concern while addressing the ongoing Public Accounts Committee (PAC) meeting.
“We are having an influx of DRC nationals seeking asylum in Botswana. Currently we have 77 asylum seekers at the Francistown Centre in which 60 of them are DRC nationals who arrived around April and May. We also have 261 refugees from DRC at Dukwi Refugee Camp,” she said. Makgekgenene said as of March 2021 they had 1093 active refugees registered at the Dukwi Refugee Camp, which is a significant reduction as compared to 2042 refugees in 2020. She further stated that they also have 59 Burundi nationals, 314 Somalians; one refugee each from Algeria, Cameroon and Eritrea; three from Sudan and South Sudan; 14 Ugandans and Ethiopians respectively.
“We also have seven Nambians, six of whom were not cleared when they were returned last year. We also have one person from Kenya, Congo and Morocco respectively; 19 Zimbabweans; 17 people from Rwanda and two from Sierra Leone. We are concerned about those who come from far flung countries because we do not know how they continue to find their way into Botswana,” she said. Makgekgenene said as of this week, there is also a significant reduction in refugees because the camp currently has 710 active refugees.
PAC member and also Member of Parliament (MP) for Mochudi East, Mabuse Pule shared the same sentiments with the ministry saying he is not pleased with the increase in numbers of people from far flung countries who continue to ‘invade’ Botswana seeking refuge.
“In terms of the international refugee law, Botswana should be hosting refugees from neighbouring countries. The question is, are these people really refugees or what? I am worried because we continue to see an increase in people from as far as Somalia. What is really happening? Pule asked.
Responding to Pule’s concerns, Makgekgenene said the government is equally concerned with the influx of refugees from far flung countries especially DRC. She said they should seek asylum in the first countries of contact but surprisingly they continue to pass through a number of countries until they land in Botswana.
“We do not know what really attracts them but there are a number of theories and thoughts around that; some say it is how we treat them. It looks like these people communicate because if we accept someone, suddenly we will receive requests from people from the same country,” she said. Asked by the PAC chairperson and MP for Selebi-Phikwe West, Dithapelo Keorapetse how refugees make their way into Botswana, Makgekgenene said they come through different means with some of them alleged to have been smuggled into the country.
“Usually they come into the country and make their way to Francistown Centre of Illegal Immigrants or at the Dukwi Refugee Camp. However, we cannot turn them back. The least we can do is to assess their requests. After rejecting their asylum requests we send them back to the centre as illegal immigrants,” explained Makgekgenene.
Meanwhile, Makgekgenene further revealed that human trafficking continues to pose a serious threat to the integrity of the country’s global financial systems, security, dignity and efforts to achieve sustainable development. She said by March 2021, the country had recorded 19 cases of human trafficking that were registered before the courts as compared to 14 cases during the same period last year.
She said even though Botswana does not meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, it is making significant efforts in that regard as it ranked at Tier 2 by 2020.
“This shows that even if Botswana does not meet all of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA’s) standards, it is making progress in eliminating trafficking. The ministry is in the process of amending the Human Trafficking Act. During this period there was no conviction of these cases. We only had one conviction in 2017 with two accused persons who were both convicted with wholly suspended sentences,” she said.