Gov’t to relocate 465 refugees after years of illegal detention
Lesedi Mkhutshwa | Monday May 19, 2025 07:47
After being held at the FCII for over three years, about 465 refugees were happy to learn that they will soon be reunited with their families and joining others at the Dukwi Refugee Camp.
During his recent address to the refugees at the FCII in Gerald Estate, Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Nelson Ramaotwana announced that the refugees will be relocated.
The minister stated relocation comes following a report made by Assistant Minister, Augustine Nyatanga, and taking into account First Lady Boko's concerns.
He added that following discussions and internalisation of the information, they collectively decided that the refugees would need to be moved to the Dukwi camp.
According to the minister, they took the decision after those in charge of the refugees in Botswana and relevant stakeholders informed them of the centre's current status.
Equally, he added that the first Lady, Kaone Boko expressed her worries about the centre after she was touched by children including those aged three, who are currently detained there.
Ramaotwana indicated that the location is an illegal immigration centre, and although it may appear that people are being held there for transit, it is actually a prison.
He added that the laws, regulations and conditions that apply to the facility are the same as those for inmates.
“Children are separated from their mothers and if there are male and under the custody of male fathers and those without fathers are under custody of men that they don’t relate to,” he said.
The minister further explained that some of the girls who only have fathers are in the care of women with whom they do not relate.
According to the rules, men are held on one side of the prison and women on the other, he added.
He said that as children are being raised, their parents should be shaping them in the way that they want them to learn and customise their traditions and cultures.
On the contrary, Ramaotwana stated that children at the centre are just staying with strangers and following prison regulations with the exception of those whose parents are housed in such cells.
“Overall, all of you are detained in a prison while you are not prisoners in a prison which keeps remands or those who awaiting trial or convicts convicted for a sentence to serve in prison,” the minister added.
Furthermore, he said the refugees people who came seeking refugee status, they are not prisoners therefore, hence they do not qualify to be subjected to a prison environment.
He indicated that the assistant minister came here and prepared a comprehensive report outlining a sorry state of affairs that the refugees were living under in terms of the separation that he had alluded to.
Ramaotwana maintained that after reviewing the report he concluded that treating such people like prisoners was inhumane.
He emphasised that the current administration is based on a human rights -centric approach to development and life adding that such an approach is reflected in way the they do things as government.
According to the Constitution, no one should be punished inhumanely or degradingly without first being given the opportunity to defend themselves or stand trial.
“None of you here who are detained have committed any offence or whatsoever and you have been detained here for three or more years without a charge or be on trial for any offence and as such you don’t qualify to live under prison rules as convicts or remands,” the minister added.
Ramaotwana further said that because they uphold human rights as government they cannot promote and violate human rights at the same time.
He quoted the Bible, which states that no stream can simultaneously generate sweet and bitter water; therefore, they are either upholding or violating human rights.
The minister added that they recently went to the Dukwi camp, toured it, and spoke with their colleagues and comrades' campers.
He stated that there are going to be some logistical preparations which require two weeks to 30 days for the refugees' relocations. Ramaotwana stated that they will need to set up tents location as part of preparations for the exercise.
'Additionally, we must ensure that all necessary supplies, including cooking utensils, are available. As a result, they estimate it will take between two weeks and 30 days,' he continued.
He said the goal is to bring families together and make sure that fathers and mothers raise their kids together.
The minister urged the refugees to behave themselves well and follow the rules appropriately once they joined the camp.
“When we were at Dukwi camp, we were told that those refugees who stay at the same camp are well behaved. We were also told that the crime rate is zero or next to nothing.
“People who stay in the camp can leave their houses open or unlocked because they protect one another’s property and don’t want to commit any crime,” he added.
Ramaotwana said the facility will become a centre for illegal immigrants for those in transit to their countries of origin.