Ministry of Homeland Security in collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), has repatriated 77 Burundian refugees from Dzaleka Camp.
The 77, who forms the third cohort of refugees to leave Malawi under voluntary repatriation initiative, left through Kamuzu International Airport (KIA) on Sunday at 2:25am.
Under the initiative, the refugees voluntarily apply to be repatriated.
In an interview on the sidelines of the repatriation, Senior Administrator in the Department of Refugees under Ministry of Homeland Security, Hilda Kausiwa, described voluntary repatriation as one of the most durable solutions that government is enforcing now.
“Noting that the situation in most of the countries of origin for the refugees that we host has changed, we are encouraging those who feel that it is safe for them, to go back home. As government, we are facilitating this,” she said.
She said they verified with Burundi before the repatriation and got assured of safety in that country.
According to Kausiwa, Ministry of Homeland Security has pending applications from refugees from countries such as Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and once resources are available, they too would be repatriated.
One of the repatriated refugees, Niyera Evelyn, who has stayed in Malawi for 14 years, was excited to go back to her original home and encouraged other refugees to take her path.
A total of 224 Burundi nationals have so far been repatriated.
Reported by James Kanyenda
