About 400 families of Mozambican refugees are back in Malawi
just three months after government repatriated them, raising security concerns
among hosting communities in the border district of Mwanza.
In October last year, government repatriated over 2 000
refugees from Luwani Refugee Camp in Neno after hosting them for about two
years.
The refugees fled persecution from the Mozambican National
Resistance (Renamo)—a rebel group turned political party which has been
fighting government soldiers for some time.
In a telephone interview, Senior Chief Nthache of Mwanza
said the number of refugees crossing the border continues to rise since New
Year.
Nthache claimed that about 400 families have already trekked
back into his area.
“These people have no shelter. They have no food, so,
incidences of theft have been reported. On top of that, lack of shelter,
sanitation is compromised. I hope government will find them a better place such
as Luwani,” explained the traditional authority who has tasked village heads to
continue documenting the number of incoming refugees.
Confirming the development, United Nations High Commission
for Refugees (UNCHR) spokesperson Lumbani Msiska said the government of Malawi
will have to decide whether to re-open Luwani Refugee Camp.
“Staff from Ministry of Homeland Security conducted a
mission at Masokosa Village to assess the claims on January 4 2019. While some
came to join relatives on the Malawi side, others claimed that they had been
threatened by Renamo soldiers to leave.
“They claim to have been warned about an impending war and
it was for their own safety that they are fleeing,”he said.
Msiska,
however, indicated that the claims have not been verified with the Mozambican
Government.
UNCHR
said it was not strange to see people from Mozambique cross the border into
Malawi at this time of the season.
Asked if
they intend to support this group of refugees, Msiska said: “UNHCR is wary of
intervening immediately for fear of creating a precedent and until there are
solid indications of what is happening, we will be cautious about jumping to
conclusions.”
But
government, which estimates the number of families to be 60- translating to 361
individuals, has ruled out any possibility of re-opening the closed Luwani
Camp, saying the recorded figures do not warrant it.
Responding
to our questionnaire, Deputy Commissioner for Refugees in the Ministry of
Homeland Security Hudson Mankhwala said government is currently consulting with
UNHCR on the way forward.
“So far,
individuals are being assisted with shelter by the local communities in
Thambani area. The government wants to engage other stakeholders for
intervention on food and Wash [Water and Sanitation],” he said.
In 2016,
refugees trekked to some villages in border areas until the number grew to
thousands, forcing government and other agencies to open a temporary shelter at
Kapise Village.
They were
later relocated to Luwani Camp which has enabling infrastructure such as
houses, health centre and a school.