Bwagiriza : when groundwater threatens refugees’ homes

SOS Médias Burundi

Ruyigi, April 6, 2026 — At the Bwagiriza refugee camp, in the district of Ruyigi in Buhumuza province in the east of the small East African nation, the rainy season is turning residents’ daily lives into a nightmare. In several neighborhoods — notably numbers 22, 25, and 30 of Bwagiriza II — the water table is rising, seeping into homes and gradually weakening the structures.

Testimonies from the ground describe an alarming situation : the water is not limited to surface runoff. It gushes from the ground, seeps into the houses, and causes persistent dampness that cracks and weakens the walls. Some homes are already partially destroyed, exposing families to dangerous living conditions.

“Here, it’s not just the rain that bothers us. Water comes from the ground and floods the house. We can’t put anything on the floor without it getting wet. And every year, we have to repair the walls that crack or collapse,” testifies a refugee from Ward 25, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The refugees have contacted officials at the National Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (ONPRA) to obtain less exposed plots of land or aid for reconstruction. But the responses remain limited.

“Before, we received trees and corrugated iron sheets to repair our homes. “Today, there’s no budget left, and we have to manage on our own,” explains Marie, a refugee in Bwagiriza.

The National Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (ONPRA) acknowledges the difficulties but emphasizes the financial constraints. “Available resources are very limited. There is no specific budget for building new housing, and priority funds go to refugees at the Busuma site. We encourage families to renovate their homes with their own resources while waiting for potential funding,” confides an agent, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The Bwagiriza camp currently houses more than 9,000 Congolese refugees, already living in precarious conditions. Rising groundwater levels exacerbate their vulnerability, exposing families to increased health and security risks.

As the rainy season continues, residents of the most affected neighborhoods are making an urgent appeal to authorities and humanitarian partners for a lasting solution to protect their homes and guarantee dignified living conditions.

A few kilometers away, the Busuma site, built in December 2025, houses more than 75,000 Congolese refugees in critical conditions. Demonstrations are regularly organized there by those who wish to return to their home villages in South Kivu, in eastern Congo, but their appeals have so far gone unanswered.