DRC refugees, asylum seekers hit Botswana

Although the country ensures that scores of refugees and asylum seekers in search of refuge in Botswana are taken care of, the increase in the number of refugees and asylum seekers from DRC worries the defence ministry. The ministry’s acting Permanent Secretary, Botlhale Makgekgenene expressed the concern while addressing the ongoing Public Accounts Committee (PAC) meeting.

“We are having an influx of DRC nationals seeking asylum in Botswana. Currently we have 77 asylum seekers at the Francistown Centre in which 60 of them are DRC nationals who arrived around April and May. We also have 261 refugees from DRC at Dukwi Refugee Camp,” she said. Makgekgenene said as of March 2021 they had 1093 active refugees registered at the Dukwi Refugee Camp, which is  a significant reduction as compared to 2042 refugees in 2020. She further stated that they also have 59 Burundi nationals, 314 Somalians; one refugee each from Algeria, Cameroon and Eritrea; three from Sudan and South Sudan; 14 Ugandans and Ethiopians respectively.