Kakuma (Kenya) : a hundred Burundian refugees return home

These Burundians returned on Monday from the Kakuma camp located in northwestern Kenya. They were repatriated aboard a UNHCR jet. INFO SOS Médias Burundi

Those concerned are divided into 35 households, according to a witness who accompanied a relative. They are from the Kakuma camp and its expansion in Kalobeyei.

“On the list, there were 40 households but five did not show up. They missed the call and the UNHCR agent had to wait for more than an hour but they did not come, we do not know why,” our source said.

Several refugees, all nationalities, had gathered on the Kakuma field in the center of Turkana to attend this activity.

“They are returning on a plane when they fled on foot,” murmured refugees.

The returnees, about a hundred, come mainly from the northern and northeastern provinces of Burundi, SOS Médias Burundi has learned.

The UNHCR jet that took off shortly after 11a.m. East Africa time, is expected to go directly to Bujumbura, the commercial city where the only international airport in the small East African nation is located.

But for the most skeptical, the time to return has not yet come.

“We have seen that they are returning happy, it is their right. But for me, it is not yet time for me to return to Burundi because I am a CNL activist (the main opposition party most persecuted in the country) and on the eve of the legislative elections I still fear for my safety,” said one of the Burundian refugees.

The UNHCR reassures those who are not still ready for the return home that they will continue to benefit from protection.

The voluntary repatriation of this December 16, 2024 constitutes a seventh convoy of Burundian refugees since the beginning of the year.

The UNHCR calls on refugees to register more for new departures to Burundi from the beginning of next year.

Kakuma is home to more than 200,000 refugees including more than 25,000 Burundians.