A delegation from Burundi arrived in Rwanda on Monday, December 19 for a two-day refugee repatriation campaign. The Burundian delegation is composed of the Permanent Secretary in the Interior Ministry in charge of Public Security, the Director General of Refugees Repatriation and Reintegration, the governors of Kirundo, Bururi and Kayanza provinces. At the Nemba One Stop Border Post in Bugesera District, the officials were received by governors Emmanuel Gasana of the Eastern Province and Alice Kayitesi of Southern Province. The officials are expected to meet Burundian refugees in Kigali and Mahama camp in Kirehe District to sensitise them to return to their homeland. In 2015, over 80,000 Burundians fled to Rwanda amid the insecurity that followed an attempted coup. According to the Ministry of Emergency Management (MINEMA), a total of 30,315 refugees have returned to Burundi since 2020. Currently, 50, 329 Burundian refugees live in Rwanda, most of them in the Mahama refugee camp. The refugee repatriation campaign is the first such initiative since 2015.
