KIRUNDO August 30th (ABP) – 493 Burundian refugees who had been living in Mahama camp in Rwanda since 2015 returned, voluntarily, to their motherland on August 27, 2020. They were welcomed at the Burundian-Rwandan border in Gasenyi-Nemba in Kirundo province (north), precisely in Busoni commune, a check on the site by the ABP has revealed.
After the warm welcome of the first inaugural convoy around 5 p.m., by the administrative authorities and the surrounding population, the Minister of the Interior, Community Development and Public Security, Mr. Gervais Ndirakobuca indicated that the Burundi government is proud the return of those compatriots who have spent so many years in exile, while launching a vibrant appeal to others who remained there to return to their homes because, he said, peace reigns throughout the country.
Mr. Ndirakobuca said Burundi does not want its children to live in the misery of exile, while others are on the brink of prosperity in their villages. He stressed that Burundi has set itself the goal of bringing together the forces of all Burundians, even those in exile, in order to achieve sustainable development.
Minister Ndirakobuca asked the administrative staff to always be with these returnees, to help them in these early days. He said that these returnees will benefit from a return package consisting of food and non-food as well as a certain amount of money to be able to readjust in their households, assistance estimated to last three months.
The Minister in charge of Public Health, Dr. Thaddée Ndikumana, meanwhile, indicated that these returnees must buy Health Insurance Cards (CAM) with the sum of money received because the government wants its people to be in good health to be able to really develop the country.
A representative of the returnees, Mr. Adrien Ntawumenya, thanked the Burundi government for the warm welcome organized for them, and asked the same government to support them in the first months. He pledged that they are ready to join with fellow nationals in community development works and help build peace and security.
Note that those returnees were all taken to the Songore transit center, in Ngozi province (north), for three days of registering and testing for Covid-19.