Nduta (Tanzania) : 25 Burundian nationals arrested

25 people of Burundian origin were arrested on Sunday while they were on their way to the Kasulu district, “to look for work”, according to them. According to refugees, their passage through the Nduta camp is reminiscent of “a set-up since they are not refugees”.

INFO SOS Médias Burundi

The group is made up of 22 young men and three young girls. They come from the province of Karusi (central-eastern Burundi), according to their testimonies.

“They were all on board a single transport bus, taking the road that connects Mwanza and Kigoma via the Nduta camp. They were arrested by the traffic police at the small station of the camp (Kituo B)”, says a Burundian refugee who followed the entire scene.

After all being identified as “Burundians, with identity cards or passes”, they were taken to a dungeon in the camp.

A thousand and one questions arise

“It is incomprehensible that someone coming from Karusi could take this route that makes a long loop to reach Kasulu, a district bordering the provinces of Muyinga and Ruyigi (northeast). They should have gone through Nyakanazi and then return directly to Kasulu. If they came from Muyinga or Ruyigi, then we could understand”, say refugees.

“Let’s say they had to go around to deceive the vigilance of the police! But, a group of 25 people, from the same province, heading to the same place, take a single bus?”, these refugees still wonder.

The second concern lies in the reaction of the police.

“In principle, usually, the traffic police at the camp never search people. They only check the drivers’ licenses. But what we saw was as if the police were informed of what was going to happen, because since the morning they were in large numbers at the station. And they did not make a mistake about the bus and quickly demanded that the passengers show their identity,” added witnesses.

In addition, they indicate, “from the border to the camp, there are two checkpoints of the Immigration police, at ‘Kiremba’ and ‘Ku Rubaho’. Therefore, how did these people pass the two stations without worrying, while these are generally demanding and rigorous checkpoints to finally be intercepted in the middle of the camp?”.

Set-up…

Burundian refugees from the Nduta camp in Tanzania suspect a plot to incriminate the occupants of the said camp.

“This situation really scares us and risks causing us problems. The police and the administration are already accusing us of collaborating with rebels and troublemakers. Then, they could confirm that recruitment is taking place and that refugees are involved,” they fear.

The situation is complicated by a curfew that is being criticized.

“Imagine that we are already confined to our homes from 7 p.m. Then, anything can happen to us because even this cursed curfew is officially intended to arrest troublemakers. All this contributes to the demonization of the Nduta camp and its occupants to maliciously find a way to repatriate us by force before next December as announced,” believe Burundian refugees who spoke to SOS Médias Burundi.

These refugees are demanding independent and inclusive investigations to shed light on this situation that embarrasses them. They say they are ready to contribute to these investigations to avoid “unnecessary criminal suspicions”.

They are asking that the UNHCR get involved to protect occupants of the Nduta camp.

Nduta is a Burundian refugee camp that hosts more than 60,000 people. Its occupants fled for the most part the 2015 crisis that was triggered by another controversial term of the late President Pierre Nkurunziza.

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Two young Burundian refugees on the road leading to the Nduta camp in Tanzania (SOS Médias Burundi)