By Juma Magino
BUSIA
Security personnel in Busia district have intercepted a group of 140 Congolese refugees who escaped from their camps in Western Uganda with the intention of crossing to neighboring Kenya.
According to the district security team led by the Deputy Resident Commissioner, Mr. Grace Kanuna, during an exclusive interview with our reporter at his office yesterday, 2/5/2023, many refugees have continued to sneak in to the border district with the aim of crossing to Kenya seeking what they term as greener pastures while others claim they want to link up with their relatives living outside Uganda.
He said many of those intercepted are refugees who have escaped from their settlement camps in western Uganda. Among those intercepted include a team that escaped from camps of Lwamanja, and Kyangwali in Kamwenge district while another team escaped from Nakivale settlement camp in Isingiro district.
He said that the security team is now liaising with the office of the Prime Minister to ensure that these refugees are taken back to their settlement camps in their respective districts. They are currently accommodated at God’s Property Church in Busia municipality.
He, however, added that the security team has resolved to intensify operations against refugees through deploying their personnel on all porous border points in every corner that connects Uganda to Kenya.
He has called upon all security agencies among them; Police, ESO, GISO, LCs and ISO to stay vigilant but ensure the safety and safe repatriation of these refugees to their camps.
