By Richard Muponde
ABOUT 600 Gukurahundi and political violence survivors living at Dukwe refugee camp in Botswana have reportedly registered to be voluntarily repatriated back home after the neighbouring country indicated that it would deport them.
The Botswana government had reportedly given the refugees an ultimatum of December 31 last year to register for voluntary repatriation or face forced removal.
This followed the return of 137 others in December as part of the second group of returning refugees.
A source close to the exercise told Southern Eye on Sunday that the refugees registered fear of being deported as that would mean they would be treated as illegal immigrants who would not get assistance from the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR).
“There were over 700 refugees at Dukwe before the repatriation of the 137 who were voluntarily repatriated,” said a source.
“The remainder had other thoughts, but the ultimatum by the Botswana government forced many to register for repatriation than to be deported.
“Botswana has ruled out any persecution if they returned to Zimbabwe, hence the decision to deport those who refuse voluntary repatriation.”
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A counsellor at the Botswana embassy in Zimbabwe, Isefengwane Mokomani, who is responsible for the repatriation of the refugees, could not be reached for comment as she was said to have gone back to her home country.
“She went back to Botswana yesterday [Thursday]. She is the one who is in a position to give you all information. However, since the information you want is official information, send us an email and we will reply you on Monday,” said an official at the Embassy.
Labour and Social Welfare minister Paul Mavima’s phone was not being answered, while his deputy Lovemore Matuke said he was on annual leave.
However, government insists the refugees were not Gukurahundi or political victims, but economic refugees who left the country for greener pastures.
Over 300 of the 700-plus Zimbabwean refugees living at Dukwe Refugee Camp, about 120km from Francistown, were expected to be repatriated via the Plumtree Border Post in January last year, but only one family of four arrived.
Their return was voluntary, but the rest of the exiles were reportedly reluctant to come back, claiming that President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government could not be trusted because it was the same Zanu PF which had persecuted them.
The repatriation was stopped after the intervention of UNHCR to make sure that the returnees were doing so voluntarily in accordance with international law.
The returnees were expected to be received by a high-level delegation of government officials at a reception ceremony at the International Organisation for Migration support centre in Plumtree.
