Nduta (Tanzania): two Burundian refugees beaten to death by Tanzanians

Two Burundians were murdered on Tuesday, Tanzanian police said, over suspicion of rape on Tanzanian women who were looking for firewood near the Nduta refugee camp. INFO SOS Médias Burundi

The regional boss of the Tanzanian police in Kigoma (northwestern Tanzania) James Manyama, revealed on Wednesday, the incident happened a day before.

“Fifteen Tanzanian males beat to death two Burundian refugees accusing them of raping and harassing their wives when they went to the fields and were looking for firewood in a reserve located not far from the Nduta camp” , said the officer.

Mr. Manyama speaks of “lynching and mob justice”, to be discouraged. In the past two weeks, at least five Tanzanian women have been sexually assaulted near the Burundian refugee camp of Nduta.

Of the fifteen alleged killers, ten were arrested and detained by the police officers who are investigating the case. Three refugees were injured in the incident and are receiving medical treatments in Nduta.

According to the police data in the Kigoma region, between 12 and 16 refugees are murdered each year outside the camps in Tanzania.

We are carrying out investigations to find out the causes of this crime,” said the Tanzanian police.

Burundian refugees in Tanzania have often reported being targeted by various forms of abuse including enforced disappearances, killings and abductions. Those concerned and human rights organizations denounce “behaviour aimed at forcing refugees to return to their country”.

Tanzania houses more than 145,000 Burundian refugees who mostly fled Burundi in 2015 following the crisis triggered by another controversial term of the late President Pierre Nkurunziza.