Highlights
The month of May is witnessing a declining number of Burundian new arrivals crossing into Uganda, similar to April’s trend. In the reporting period, a total of 54 Burundians were received at the reception centre, down from last week’s 75 individuals.
Entering through Katuna, Mirama Hills, and Mutukula border points, 34 walked into the reception centre, 20 were transported by AIRD from the borders and 10 were referred by OPM from Kampala.
They are mainly fleeing from Kirundo, Rumonge, Ngozi, Makamba, Ruigi, Karusi,
Muyinga, Bujumbura Marie and Kibitoke provinces due to the forced recruitment of the youth by militia groups and imprisonment of those suspected to be in opposition of the current government. Majority of the new arrivals are men.In Kisoro, some three Burundian new arrivals were received at Nyakabande Transit Centre. One of them has been a refugee in DRC since April 2015 when he was granted refugee status and was living at Lusanda Camp in Fizi, South Kivu. He entered Uganda through Bunagana border, fleeing frequent fighting between DRC forces and FDLR rebels close to the camp. Another Burundian entered Uganda through Kyanika border while the other one is already a refugee in Nakivale but was working in Kampala. He revealed that someone lured him with a fake job in Kabale only to be drugged with chloroform and all his properties stolen. He was transported to Kisoro by HIJRA.
Operational context
In Nakivale, a total of 372 new arrivals are residing at Kabazana Reception Centre, a significant reduction from last week’s 632 individuals. This is within the centre’s capacity of 338 individuals. The decrease is a result of OPM relocation of registered new arrivals to their plots. The plot allocation per family was 15 meters by 20 meters.