Nakivale : thousands of refugees excluded from census, authorities challenged

SOS Médias Burundi

Nakivale, November 3, 2026 —A refugee identity verification operation is underway in several camps in Uganda. Scheduled to last three months, this exercise, led by the Ugandan Prime Minister’s Office for Refugees in collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is raising questions at the Nakivale camp. Congolese refugees as well as some 3,000 Burundians recently arrived from Tanzania are not affected by this first phase, a situation which fuels incomprehension and concern among those excluded.

In Nakivale, in southwestern Uganda, teams responsible for the operation are gradually verifying the identities of refugees in different areas of the camp. They intervene in particular at points commonly called “Food Distribution”, where food distributions are organized.

However, Congolese refugees are temporarily excluded from this phase. UNHCR representatives reportedly indicated that their registration would take place later, without giving a specific date. This response does not allay concerns, particularly among families made up of members of different nationalities.

“Everyone is wondering about the reasons for this exclusion of the Congolese. The problem arises in particular when a household includes a husband or wife of Congolese origin. In this case, the verification of refugee status is not carried out on all members of the family,” testify sources within the camp.

The persons concerned ask the authorities and organizations involved in the operation to clarify the reasons for this exclusion and to specify when they too will be able to undergo verification.

A calendar established by zone

The operation takes place gradually in the different areas of the camp. After their visit to Rubondo last week, the teams traveled to Base Camp this week. They should then continue their work in Juru.

This staggered deployment should make it possible to cover the different parts of the camp. But for the refugees left behind, the lack of a timetable for their own verification fuels uncertainty.

Some 3,000 Burundians also affected

Congolese refugees are not the only ones to be excluded from this first phase. Some 3,000 Burundians recently arrived from Tanzania and welcomed in Nakivale are also not affected by the operation.

Those responsible explain this situation by their administrative status. These new arrivals are not yet officially recognized as refugees and appear in the registers as asylum seekers.

“They will have to wait to be recognized, registered and identified. They are nevertheless known in our registers as asylum seekers,” officials said.

This administrative distinction therefore postpones their participation in the verification exercise, without a precise deadline having been communicated.

A data updating exercise

According to enumerators, the operation aims to update data on refugee populations and to verify the identity of people living in the camps.

This includes taking into account movements recorded within these populations : returns to countries of origin, deaths, departures to third countries as part of resettlement programs or even departures from camps for other reasons.

This update should allow the authorities and humanitarian partners to have up-to-date data on the people present in the reception sites.

Refugees also demand an improvement in their living conditions

Beyond the concerns linked to their exclusion from the census, the refugees of Nakivale denounce persistent difficulties they face. They mention in particular the insufficiency of food aid and the obstacles to access to medical care.

They call on the Ugandan authorities and humanitarian organizations not to limit their intervention to identification operations, but to also pay increased attention to their essential needs.

The Nakivale camp hosts more than 150,000 refugees, including more than 35,000 Burundians, according to figures communicated as part of this information.

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A man speaks to a gathering of refugees at the Nakivale camp in Uganda, listening to their grievances (SOS Médias Burundi)