BRIAN LIGOMEKA, Blantyre | Thursday
MALAWI has announced a review of its Refugee Act governing the admission and treatment of foreign asylum seekers following a spate of violent armed robberies involving suspected war refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Malawi deputy commissioner for relief and rehabilitation Willy Gidala said government had been forced to review its refugee policies following indications that heavily armed refugees were behind an unprecedented rise in violent vehicle hijacking, robberies and murders in the country.
“There is always at least one foreigner from the Great Lakes region in every criminal gang that is caught for armed robbery or motor vehicle theft,” Gidala said this week.
“The trend proves that Malawi’s generous open door policy for refugees from war-torn regions is being abused.”
Gidala stressed that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had agreed in principle to participate in the policy review to ensure that any amendments to the Refugee Act met UN guidelines.
Gidala also expressed concern that refugees were violating local regulations that they remain in holding camps and were instead “roaming free through Malawi’s city streets”.
Local media have blamed Malawi’s immigration and police services for failing to screen genuine refugees from international gangesters, but Gidala said the authorites was finding it difficult to demand necessary records due to inadequacies in the Refugee Act.
Malawi national police spokesman Oliver Soko added that it was difficult to identify refugees once they slipped out of holding camps. He stressed that many Great Lakes region criminals were also not refugees at all, and had instead slipped into Malawi illegally.
Regional UNHCR media liason head, Michael Owor, said the public perception and government concerns that refugees were instrumental in violent crimes made it essential to review Malawi’s refugee policies as soberly as possible.
Owor confirmed, however, that the recent influx of war refugees from the stricken Great Lakes region had been unanticipated and had placed pressure on UNHCR’s financial resources in Malawi.
Malawi currently receives roughly 70 new refugees every week and hosts 3 400 refugees at its Dzaleka camp in central Malawi. Most asylum seekers are from Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and Somalia. – African Eye News Service