Kigoma : the hunt for Burundian refugees plunges camps and families into fear

SOS Médias Burundi

Kigoma, April 8, 2026 — Tensions are rising in northwestern Tanzania. Authorities in the Kigoma region, home to the Nduta and Nyarugusu camps, have announced a large-scale operation to hunt down undocumented immigrants. Their target : thousands of Burundian refugees suspected of hiding to avoid forced repatriation.

A large-scale operation

Regional Governor Simon Sirro presented the details of the operation last Friday to police, military, and immigration officials.

“All refugees hiding in various neighborhoods and villages must be searched for, brought to justice as undocumented immigrants, and then returned to their country of origin,” he stated. The operation, scheduled to last seven to ten days after Easter, is part of the gradual closure of the Nduta camp.

Fear and anguish : stories from refugees

Jean*, 32 years old, confides : “Every time someone knocks on the door or a police vehicle drives by, my heart stops. We know that if we are caught, it will mean forced repatriation. The local population could report us… it’s like living in a permanent trap.”

Marie*, a mother of three, recounts : “My children no longer play outside. Every noise makes us jump. We no longer feel safe, not even in our tents.”

Samuel*, a refugee in a hangar in Nduta, adds : “Part of our houses has been demolished. Five families sleep in a single hangar. There aren’t enough beds or blankets. The children get sick because of the overcrowding.”

Health discrimination : Burundian children forgotten

The health situation is exacerbating the feeling of injustice. The Nyarugusu camp hosts both Burundians and Congolese, but only the former are being targeted.

“Children aged nine months, one year, and five years were turned away from vaccination centers. We were told the stock was depleted… only for us Burundians,” explains a community health worker. “Congolese children, on the other hand, were vaccinated as usual. It’s cruel and discriminatory.”

Arrests and detentions

Approximately 4,000 Burundians are currently held in Tanzanian jails for failing to comply with local regulations, according to Burundian Foreign Minister Edouard Bizimana.

Clarisse*, a refugee in Nyarugusu, testifies : “I saw families taken to jail simply because they didn’t have the right documents.” Children and mothers were crying, not knowing why they were being detained.

NGOs raise the alarm

Several human rights organizations are denouncing the “alarming” deterioration of living conditions in the Nduta and Nyarugusu camps. They accuse Tanzanian authorities of carrying out forced repatriations, in violation of the international principle of non-refoulement, despite warnings from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The NGOs insist that all repatriations must remain voluntary, safe, and dignified, which, according to them, is not being respected in the Tanzanian camps.

An extension that worsens the ordeal

Initially scheduled to close at the end of March and the end of June 2026, the Nduta and Nyarugusu camps will remain open for an additional month, officially to better organize returns. For the refugees, this extension only prolongs their anguish and already very difficult living conditions.

Tanzania still hosts more than 100,000 Burundian refugees, most of whom arrived after the 2015 crisis linked to President Pierre Nkurunziza’s contested third term. Today, their future remains uncertain, marked by forced repatriations, fear of persecution, and precarious living conditions.