Reports from various sources indicate that more than 600 Rwandan refugees living in Namibia are feared missing.
KT Press could not independently confirm the authenticity of the reports, but the Chines News Agency, Xinhua, said it spoke to Namibia’s Commissioner for Refugees, Nkrumah Mushelenga, on Thursday about the case.
That “of the total 6,100 refugees and asylum seekers [from different countries] in the country, the whereabouts of 2,354 are not known.”
Most of the refugees and asylum seekers, according to Xinhua, were accommodated at Osire Refugee Camp, about 218 kilometers from the capital Windhoek. It is said that there are 862 Rwandan refugees of which 643 “are feared to be on the run.”
The Minister of Disaster Management and Refugee Affairs (MIDIMAR), Mukantabana Seraphine, has told KT Press this evening that she is not aware of the matter.
But she added that, “We need to know how they disappeared, because they could have moved progressively and not at ago.”
She said that refugees are entitled to free movement (especially in SADAC), therefore “they could have moved to [Namibia’s] neighbouring countries such as Zambia, Zimbabwe looking for either business opportunities or a better life.”
Reports say more than 2, 000 refugees have not been reporting to verification centers. Namibian authorities thus conclude, “They might be on the run.”
In fact, Mushelenga was quoted calling for their arrest, when found. Although reports say there are over 800 refugees in Namibia, MIDMAR is not aware of the exact number.
Source: KT Press
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