Uganda has deployed security forces in the western districts of Masaka, Sembabule and Lyatonde after xenophobic attacks on Rwandan refugees aimed at driving them out of the country, say local leaders.
According to Haruna Numba, head of the Rwandan community in the town of Masaka, Rwandan pastoralist refugees are particularly vulnerable.
"We are living in fear, our farms have been destroyed, cattle slaughtered and homes burnt; they want to force us out of Uganda," Numba told IRIN.
Figures released by the police show that at least 70 Rwandans have been knifed or hacked to death since April in Masaka, Lyantonde and Rakai districts, where most Rwandan refugees settled after fleeing the 1994 genocide.
Numba said attackers were targeting Rwandans whom they accused of illegally staying in Uganda.
Ploy Namayi, Uganda’s police spokesperson in charge of the western region, blamed the attacks on "common thugs" trying to instil fear among locals.
"We have made several arrests and our preliminary investigations reveal that these are common thugs who are trying to scare people from moving [around] at night,” she said.
According to the police, the killings have a similar pattern, with machete and knife wounds observed on all the bodies. None of the victims had gunshot wounds.
There are up to 17,000 refugees in Uganda, according to the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, in several settlements. At least 3,000 have settled among locals outside refugee camps.
Stephen Mulera, a Rwandese pastoralist in Kyanamukaka sub-county, said the entire Rwandan community was living in fear due to the attacks.
“We have to be indoors by early evening; sometimes we hear the attackers in our kraals but we just ignore them,” he said.
The attackers have also targeted livestock and slaughtered many cows.
Mulera said he liked being in Uganda because there was plenty of grazing land and pasture for his livestock.
Arrests
According to Kale Kayihura, Uganda’s Inspector-General of Police, gang ringleaders have been arrested and the attacks have subsided in the past week.
The police have also facilitated the establishment of youth vigilante groups in the affected districts to work with them to monitor insecurity.
“We are also putting in place more police posts in the areas to deal with these criminals. Conflicts over land and property are also escalating the attacks,” Kayihura told IRIN on 25 July.
According to Numba, leaflets were circulated in early July in Kyanamukaka sub-county, warning foreigners to vacate the Buganda kingdom.
However, Kayihura said the threats were made by criminals and the refugees were an easy target.
Unwilling to return home
Since 2005, UNHCR has been encouraging Rwandan refugees to take advantage of the improved situation in their country and voluntarily return home. However, about 17,000 remain in Uganda.
Simon Mutachuka, the camp commandant of the Nakivale settlement in western Uganda, which has the largest number of Rwandan refugees, said only five had agreed to be repatriated in 2008.
In May, the Ugandan government announced it would close some of the camps at the end of July; this compelled hundreds of refugees to flee the settlements. Several refugees have managed to fake national IDs fearing repatriation.
Reasons for their unwillingness to return home range from past criminal records, fear of prosecution for genocide-related crimes and population pressure at home, camp officials say.
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According to Haruna Numba, head of the Rwandan community in the town of Masaka, Rwandan pastoralist refugees are particularly vulnerable.
"We are living in fear, our farms have been destroyed, cattle slaughtered and homes burnt; they want to force us out of Uganda," Numba told IRIN.
Figures released by the police show that at least 70 Rwandans have been knifed or hacked to death since April in Masaka, Lyantonde and Rakai districts, where most Rwandan refugees settled after fleeing the 1994 genocide.
Numba said attackers were targeting Rwandans whom they accused of illegally staying in Uganda.
Ploy Namayi, Uganda’s police spokesperson in charge of the western region, blamed the attacks on "common thugs" trying to instil fear among locals.
"We have made several arrests and our preliminary investigations reveal that these are common thugs who are trying to scare people from moving [around] at night,” she said.
According to the police, the killings have a similar pattern, with machete and knife wounds observed on all the bodies. None of the victims had gunshot wounds.
There are up to 17,000 refugees in Uganda, according to the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, in several settlements. At least 3,000 have settled among locals outside refugee camps.
Stephen Mulera, a Rwandese pastoralist in Kyanamukaka sub-county, said the entire Rwandan community was living in fear due to the attacks.
“We have to be indoors by early evening; sometimes we hear the attackers in our kraals but we just ignore them,” he said.
The attackers have also targeted livestock and slaughtered many cows.
Mulera said he liked being in Uganda because there was plenty of grazing land and pasture for his livestock.
Arrests
According to Kale Kayihura, Uganda’s Inspector-General of Police, gang ringleaders have been arrested and the attacks have subsided in the past week.
The police have also facilitated the establishment of youth vigilante groups in the affected districts to work with them to monitor insecurity.
“We are also putting in place more police posts in the areas to deal with these criminals. Conflicts over land and property are also escalating the attacks,” Kayihura told IRIN on 25 July.
According to Numba, leaflets were circulated in early July in Kyanamukaka sub-county, warning foreigners to vacate the Buganda kingdom.
However, Kayihura said the threats were made by criminals and the refugees were an easy target.
Photo: UNHCR  |
Since 2005, UNHCR has been encouraging Rwandan refugees to take advantage of the improved situation in their country and voluntarily return home. However, about 17,000 remain in Uganda.
Simon Mutachuka, the camp commandant of the Nakivale settlement in western Uganda, which has the largest number of Rwandan refugees, said only five had agreed to be repatriated in 2008.
In May, the Ugandan government announced it would close some of the camps at the end of July; this compelled hundreds of refugees to flee the settlements. Several refugees have managed to fake national IDs fearing repatriation.
Reasons for their unwillingness to return home range from past criminal records, fear of prosecution for genocide-related crimes and population pressure at home, camp officials say.
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This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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