13 Dec 2015

 A group of 16 Namibian citizens who have been refugees and staying at Dukwi Refugee Camp safely arrived home in Katima Mulilo Region last Friday after a day-long journey from Botswana by road.

 

The group which was mainly made of people under the age of 40 years is part of the ongoing exercise to return Namibians who sought refuge in Botswana in 1998 during the attempted cessation in the then Caprivi Strip now named Zambezi region, bordering Chobe District in Botswana.   

 

The group members had woken up as early as 5am to wait for their transport and wasted no time when they were finally called to board their 29-seater mini bus

 

The Namibian refugees most ofwhom  arrived in Botswana in their primes in 1998 following attacks at Katima Mulilo Police Station and Radio Station, waved excitedly to a group of refugee community who had come to bid them farewell as the bus finally left.

 

At the time of the cessation attempt in Caprivi Strip at least 2 000 refugees fled into Botswana seeking asylum. Many of them crossed through ungazetted points of entry before being handed to authorities in Kasane. They were led by Mr Mishake Muyongo and Chief Boniface Mamili and 13 other members of their leadership group.

 

However, since their arrival in Botswana, those who opted to return to Namibia were facilitated to do so through the auspices of the Tripartite Commission on the Repatriation of Namibian Refugees.

 

The Tripartite Commission meets on annual basis to consider the best ways to assist the Namibian refugees to return voluntarily to their country. In the past, refugees have been afforded opportunities to embark on “Go and See” and “Come and Tell” missions to afford them to make informed decisions regarding their return.

 

Meanwhile, Dukwi Settlement Commandant, Mr Bonang Batekele told BOPA that Namibian refugees have been over the years addressed by Cabinet ministers from Botswana and Namibia as well as the Regional United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) representative assuring them that the country is safe to return to.  

 

The Namibia refugees were last addressed in May 2015 where Botswana’s Minister of Defence, Justice and Security, Mr Shaw Kgathi and his Namibian counterpart of Home Affairs and Immigration, Ms Pendukeni Livula-Ithana shared the platform with the UNHCR Regional Representative, Ms Clementine Salami-Nkweta.

 

Following the interactive meeting where refugees were also given the opportunity to express their views and a consensus was reached, in June 2015 at least five refugees were repatriated and this time around 16 after an initial 18 were assisted to repatriate voluntarily.At the moment, there are 910 Namibian refugees remaining in Botswana. December 31, 2015  is deadline set by  Botswana , Namibia and UNHCR  for repatriation of the refugees. Ends