EATERN PROVINCE

BUGESERA — About 44 Burundi nationals who had illegally entered Rwanda were on Thursday after noon deported.

The forty-four were part of a group of feigners arrested on Wednesday in a house-to house hunt in Nyamata town without identifications. Other foreigners arrested during the same search were Congolese nationals.

An official at Bugesera district migration office told The New Times that the group was handed over to Burundi migration officials at the Rwanda-Burundi border of Nemba.

"Our aim was to continue harmonizing our relationship with Burundi, otherwise we would have taken these people to court to on charges of illegal migration," the official who asked not to be named because is not authorized to speak on behalf of the migration said.

The official explained that Rwanda is not against foreigners who come to work in the country but they want people to pass through proper channels.

"These people have a chance to return to their respective jobs after getting proper migration documents from their country. We are not against them, we just want them to follow the procedures governing foreigners who work in Rwanda," explained the source.

However, about four Congolese nationals are still detained at Nyamata police station pending deportation arrangement.

"We shall use the same procedures we used to deport Burundi nationals. We have communicated to our Congolese counter parts, so they are ready to receive their people," the official said.

According to police, most of the illegal immigrants have been working as housemaids, cyclists, barbers and night watchmen. They reportedly used narrow foot paths commonly known as ‘panya routes’ to reach Bugesera.

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