Dzaleka (Malawi) : two refugees, a Burundian and a Rwandan arrested

They were arrested after a search that was carried out by the police at the Dzaleka camp in Malawi. The two refugees, a Burundian and a Rwandan, are prosecuted for illegal possession of weapons. INFO SOS Médias Burundi

The two men, whose identity is not yet known, were arrested on Sunday after an “improvised” search. The operation took place early in the morning in the area called “Likuni I”.

“The police targeted only two separate households. It seems that they were well informed about the activity of the occupants. After the search, the police showed two rifles that were allegedly seized from these two refugees,” reassures one of the local leaders who says that it is difficult to “affirm or deny the results of this police search” because they were not informed well in advance to accompany the police elements as is normally the case in Dzaleka.

Those arrested are kept in the camp’s custody while waiting to be brought before the courts.

The news circulated very quickly in this camp and only frightens the occupants.

“We are really worried because this is the first time that weapons have been seized in the middle of the camp. Where do they come from? What were their owners going to do with them?” wonders a Burundian refugee.

In this camp, several cases of banditry, most often armed, have been reported. Refugees fear that these suspects are part of gangs of thieves who are destabilizing the camp.

On Monday, the suspects were to be presented before an OPJ (Judicial Police Officer), local leaders and refugees from the camp in the public square to explain themselves. The activity was temporarily postponed because the police indicated that they are continuing their investigations and that other suspects are being sought, without naming them.

The police reassure the occupants of the Dzaleka camp that security will be reinforced but ask them to report any unusual facts or gestures that could disrupt security.

The Dzaleka camp hosts more than 50,000 refugees from the DRC, Rwanda, Burundi, Somalia, Sudan and Ethiopia.
Burundians staying there are estimated at more than 110,000, according to the UNHCR.