11 May 2008
Nairobi — They were thrown out onto foreign soil by fellow compatriots in a tragic twist of fate that was the post-election violence. They have endured months of suffering, living miserably in refugee camps far away from their country. But even after relative calm returned, the lot is unwilling to come back home yet. They feel strongly that what they always called home is not ready to receive them back.
These are the slightly more than 2,000 Kenyans who took refuge in Uganda in the face of the crisis that nearly crippled the country at the beginning of the year, leaving more than 1,500 dead and over 350,000 displaced in its fatal wake.
Eight-bus convoy
The UN refugee agency has now completed the transfer of the refugees from a transit centre in eastern Uganda near the border with Kenya to Kiryandongo refugee settlement in Masindi district in the west.
Both the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and refugee representatives told the Sunday Nation that they were not ready to relocate back home since they feel the environment is still not right.
An eight-bus convoy carrying the first group of some 460 refugees left Mulanda transit centre in eastern Uganda on Monday morning for the nine-hour journey to Kiryandongo, 620 kilometres away. The relocation exercise is expected to be completed on Thursday.
The second group of 512 refugees left Mulanda on Tuesday aboard eight buses for their journey to the west. They will be hosted at Kiryandongo, a long established settlement which was built for refugees fleeing conflicts in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Sudan.
However, another group of some 200 refugees who have signed up for voluntary return to their homes in Kenya were be transported home on Friday.
Tears of joy
In Busia, hundreds of residents turned up at the police station to receive relatives who had fled to Mulanda. Tears of joy flowed freely as the relatives reunited after four months.
Three buses carrying 132 Kenyan refugees arrived at the Busia border point at 2.45 pm and after clearance on the Ugandan side the refuges led by UNHCR officials entered the "no man's land".
On the Ugandan's side, the refuges were given ripe bananas as they left.
On the Kenyans side the refuges were scrutinised for almost two hours by security officer. Finally at 4.35pm, they were allowed to enter the Kenyan soil and driven to Busia police station to join other 400 IDPs who have been camping there.
There was no government official at hand to receive the returnees except UNHCR Kenya spokesman Emmanuel Nyabera and other staff.
"We wish them well as the refuges are having some basic necessities to start their live and it's our prayer that the Kenyan government will support them," Mr Nyabera said.
Declining to go home
Busia police boss Paul Kariuki assured them of their security at the camp with most of the refuges saying that they will be leaving the camp soon for their homes.
But even as the 132 returned to the country, more than 400 IDPs were still holed up in the Busia police station where they had been camping from December last year, casting doubts on whether the programme would be successful.
Early this week, the government launched a programme in which it aims at resettling all the IDPs but the move has in some cases hit a snag with some of the victims declining to go back home, for fear of insecurity or demanding compensation before they move.
Kenya's High Commissioner Japheth Getugi accompanied a Ugandan government delegation to hand over 339 refugees displaced during post election violence to Kenyan authorities in Teso district at the Kenya-Uganda Border on Friday.
Mr Getugi added that the 339 refugees were not forced but voluntarily accepted to return home following the formation of coalition government.
Mother of ten
Ms Margaret Wangare a mother of ten and a refugee who talked to Nation said they were not forced by the Uganda authority to return into the country but were motivated by commitment of the coalition government to the coalition agenda.
Mulanda is a temporary facility without basic social amenities. The transfer to Kiryandongo will ensure that displaced children can go to school and families have better health care, said Stefano Severe, UNHCR's Representative in Uganda. He added that the refugee settlement has adequate room which has been vacated by Sudanese refugees who have returned home.
Kiryandongo settlement has a population of some 7,000 refugees mainly from southern Sudan. Many of them are farmers growing crops such as maize, beans, cassava and bananas - locally known as matoke. The settlement has four UNHCR-supported primary schools and one secondary school. There is also a well-equipped health centre.
"Everybody is very excited about going to Kiryandongo. We are looking forward to getting established there, where our children can attend schools and we can start rebuilding our lives," said Peter Karanja, a refugee leader who boarded the convoy with his family on Monday morning.
The refugees appeared all eager to leave the Mulanda camp where they dwell in tents to the camp in western Uganda which has established facilities and amenities.
Chaos broke out
"We are not ready to return home," said one of the refugee leaders Mr Joseph Githu. "We don't think that the environment is right." What convinced him of this was when Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka was booed during a reconciliatory meeting by President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga in Eldoret, he says. Mr Githu lived, owned property and ran a business in Burnt Forest. But when the chaos broke out, he was visiting Busia with his family and like other targets of the violence, he crossed into Uganda.
"I would like to urge Kenyans to resist the culture of falling for every political whim. They should not belong to politicians," said Mr Githu.
Among the refugees are two young men, both upcoming athletes who fled from the chaos in and around Eldoret after athlete Lucas Sang's was killed.
Julius Kiplagat and Joshua Maina now fear that their dreams could be dashed for lack of facilities to do practice and support from the Kenya government.
"Since we arrived here at Mulanda we have never received any support from the government or Athletics Kenya. If that continues, then we will consider representing Uganda in any international athletics events," said Mr Maina.
Mr Kiplagat, 23, said his family home at Kuinet in Eldoret was flattened by demonstrators prompting him to flee to Transmara before heading to Mulanda in Uganda.
Rose Nyambura, 58, vows never to return to her Teso home where she has lived since 1975, unless the government finds alternative land for her.
Living with HIV
"I lived there and my nine children grew up just like Teso children," said Ms Nyambura. "I couldn't believe it when our very neighbours ordered us to leave. I cannot return unless the Kenya government will offer me land among my people."
Another of the refugees is in a quagmire unique to only a few of them. Ms Miriam Muthoni says she has lived positively with HIV for 15 years and her request was that UNHCR and the Kenyan government assist those of them in her category.
"There are about 65 of us living positively with HIV. But we can't go back home for medication and yet we cannot receive any drugs and the necessary food supplements from this side either. We beg that someone comes to our aid so that we can live meaningful lives.," Ms Muthoni said.
Report by MUGUMO MUNENE, BERNARD KWALIA, OUMA WANZALA AND DANIEL OTIENO
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