1,000 Congolese refugees transferred to Kyangwali refugee settlement

Kikuube, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The government has transferred more than 1,000 Congolese refugees to Kyangwali refugee settlement camp. The refugees had been settled at Bubukwanga transit centre in Bundibugyo district.

In the last two months, more than 10,000 Congolese nationals entered the country through Ntoroko and Bundibugyo district following violence in areas of Mbogha and Kyabohe in Ituri province, Eastern DRC.

Acrobat Kiiza Moses, the Bughendera County MP says over 1,000 asylum seekers have been transferred to Kyangwali refugee settlement camp in Kikuube district since September.

However, the MP adds that the district continues receiving new cases of asylum seekers.

The Bundibugyo district vice chairperson, Joel Bwambale says that with increasing insecurity in the country, they are worried about the possibilities of ADF infiltration, noting that some refugees have gone missing after they were received at the transit centre.

He appeals to the government to expedite the process of screening and transferring all of them to gazetted refugee settlements.

Julius Mucunguzi, the head of communications at the Office of the Prime Minister says that plans are underway to resettle another batch, as more space is available. He says several refugees from neighboring Burundi hosted at Kyangwali have been taken back to their country creating space in the camp to host more numbers currently hosted in transit camps.

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