At least 50 representatives of Rwandan refugees living in Zambia are set to tour the country to assess the situation before reporting back to their colleagues.

The consensus was reached during a meeting that brought together Local Government Minister Protais Musoni and representatives of the over 5000 refugees who have been living in Zambia for the last 15 years.

The meeting took place in Lusaka, the Zambian capital.
"We met over 50 representatives who wanted to tour the country before resolving to repatriate and we agreed to have them witness the progress their country has registered since 1994,” Musoni said by telephone.

However, he couldn’t mention the exact month or date when these refugees would be coming, saying that they are yet to agree on a calendar.

He said that this would probably be before the end of August

Official statistics reveal that 1,500 of them live in Lusaka city while at least 4,000 are in Maheba and Muyukwayukwa regions.

According to Musoni, 17 returnees who were repatriated from Zambia in January will have to go back and help to explain the situation in the country to those who still have concerns. 

"We met them and many of them are willing to repatriate on their own will and during the meeting several refugees appealed to our team to help them repatriate and UNHCR will facilitate this,” Musoni said.

Earlier, Zambian Local Government and Housing Minister Benny Tetamashimba commended President Paul Kagame for his efforts in restoring peace and called upon Rwandan refugees in Zambia to accept the voluntary repatriation programme.

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