Mahama (Rwanda) : one dead in a fire

A fire broke out in the Mahama refugee camp in Rwanda and claimed the life of a Congolese refugee. The cause of the fire was a combustible gas cylinder that exploded.

INFO SOS Médias Burundi

Pengele Jean Kamate died Monday evening.

He lived in the Mahama I area, village 1 (gate 7/a) and worked in a public bookstore managed by the NGO Save the Children.

The incident occurred on Monday evening at his home.

“He was cooking as usual before going to sleep. Maybe he would have lain down on the bed in his small room that also serves as a kitchen and dozed. When he woke up, it was too late, the cylinder had exploded,” his neighbors say.

“He tried to escape in vain because the flames had already invaded his entire room and devoured everything in it,” they added.

He called for help. His neighbors did not have easy access because his small house was closed from the inside. They had to break the window and demolish a wall to get in.

“He was in a very critical condition,” recalls one of the rescuers.

Pengele Jean Kamate was quickly taken to Kirehe district hospital and then transferred to Kigali for intensive care.

“Unfortunately, his life could not be saved. He succumbed to his injuries,” his neighbors lament.

This is not the first time that such fires have claimed human lives in the Mahama refugee camp in Rwanda.
This camp is already mourning at least five people, including Burundians, who have died in such circumstances in less than a year.

Refugees call for emergency measures

“First, we need to replace all these old used bottles because since 2019 they have not been renewed yet. Then, we need public kitchens outside our rooms because we have very narrow rooms and we cook there,” refugees explain.

This happens at a time when refugees have not been using firewood to cook for some time – a change that pleased those concerned but which requires support measures as the camp is expanding day by day, say its occupants.

Mahama, the largest refugee camp in Rwanda, is home to more than 63,000 people, including 40,000 Burundians and Congolese.

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Refugees watch a man who tries to enter the small room of Pengele Jean Kamate to save him from the flames, in vain, January 2025 (SOS Médias Burundi)