Dukwe refugees overstay their welcome
Botswana’s new president says Namibians in the Dukwe refugee camp who refuse to return home voluntarily will soon be deported.
JEMIMA BEUKES
Namibians living in Botswana’s Dukwe refugee camp will eventually be prosecuted as illegal immigrants if they refuse to return to Namibia, says Botswana’s new president Mokgweetsi Masisi.
Masisi was in Windhoek yesterday on a working visit to President Hage Geingob.
He was accompanied by his minister of international relations and cooperation, Vincent Seretse, defence minister Shaw Kgathi, minister of transport and communication Kitso Mokaila and other senior government officials.
Masisi, who took over from former president Ian Khama last week, said the country would do all it can to return the Dukwe refugees to Namibia.
In 1998, Namibians fled from the former Caprivi Strip, now the Zambezi Region, into Botswana after a failed secessionist uprising.
These Caprivians, as they call themselves, are resisting repatriation to Namibia, arguing that the Namibian government plans to arrest them upon their return.
The refugees therefore approached the High Court of Botswana, which in 2016 ordered that the deportation of Namibian refugees be halted.
However, Masisi yesterday said that his government was working tirelessly to make sure these refugees return home and respect the laws of Botswana.
“We do not perceive them as refugees anymore, we have revoked their refugee status. We are firmly convinced that they do not face any kind of threat from Namibia. They will eventually be treated as illegal immigrants and will be assisted to go home,” he said.
He added that his government would not tolerate any politically inspired hostility from refugees.
Geingob told him that Namibia was waiting to welcome these people back, but also warned that those who had committed crimes would have to face the law.
Namibians living in Botswana’s Dukwe refugee camp will eventually be prosecuted as illegal immigrants if they refuse to return to Namibia, says Botswana’s new president Mokgweetsi Masisi.
Masisi was in Windhoek yesterday on a working visit to President Hage Geingob.
He was accompanied by his minister of international relations and cooperation, Vincent Seretse, defence minister Shaw Kgathi, minister of transport and communication Kitso Mokaila and other senior government officials.
Masisi, who took over from former president Ian Khama last week, said the country would do all it can to return the Dukwe refugees to Namibia.
In 1998, Namibians fled from the former Caprivi Strip, now the Zambezi Region, into Botswana after a failed secessionist uprising.
These Caprivians, as they call themselves, are resisting repatriation to Namibia, arguing that the Namibian government plans to arrest them upon their return.
The refugees therefore approached the High Court of Botswana, which in 2016 ordered that the deportation of Namibian refugees be halted.
However, Masisi yesterday said that his government was working tirelessly to make sure these refugees return home and respect the laws of Botswana.
“We do not perceive them as refugees anymore, we have revoked their refugee status. We are firmly convinced that they do not face any kind of threat from Namibia. They will eventually be treated as illegal immigrants and will be assisted to go home,” he said.
He added that his government would not tolerate any politically inspired hostility from refugees.
Geingob told him that Namibia was waiting to welcome these people back, but also warned that those who had committed crimes would have to face the law.
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