Tears of joy as refugees return home from Uganda

Uganda’s Disaster Preparedness Minister Hillary Onek (second right) with Kenyan officials who welcomed Kenyan refugees travelling from Uganda at the Malaba border point on Tuesday. [PHOTO: Titus Oteba/STANDARD]

Kenya: After eight years in tents in a foreign land not far away from their ancestral country, 705 Kenyans finally made it back to the country to the delight of relatives and fellow countrymen.

As they disembarked from the buses hired in Uganda that ferried them across the border, tears of joy freely ran down their cheeks. It was a reunion full of memories; bad and good.

Their journey to become refugees in Uganda started on December 30, 2007 after Mwai Kibaki was declared President for his second term. After the announcement, violence broke out in most parts of the country, as supporters of Mr Kibaki and the Opposition candidate Raila Odinga clashed.

As she set foot in Kenya for the first time after eight years, Jane Wangui recounted amid tears how she lost her 17-year-old son in Uganda, and how the violence left her with a spine injury, rendering her immobile.

Her greatest regret, though, was that neither Kibaki nor Raila was there to witness their return home.

Although they will struggle to erase memories of the horrific scenes they witnessed as they escaped to Uganda, they were, however, overwhelmed with the joy of returning home.

And to the returnees, so much has changed since the fateful day they ran for dear life as the country slid into turmoil after the announcement of the presidential results.

During their stay as refugees across the Busia border, many of those who were internally displaced have since been resettled and others compensated.

And unlike the frightening atmosphere that was characterised by bloodshed and smoke billowing from burning property at the height of the chaos, they returned home to a calm and warm reception from people who might have been their aggressors then.

To receive them was Western Regional Co-ordinator James ole Serian, who assured them of their safety and elaborated to them how they will be resettled.

The group that returned on Tuesday is part of the 1,350 Kenyans who have been living in Uganda as refugees after fleeing the country at the height of the post-election violence.

The refugees who have been living in a camp in Kiryandongo in Western Uganda entered the country through the Malaba border point.

They were then taken to a makeshift camp within Malaba town for screening and check-up at the Malaba dispensary.

From here, they will be taken to different locations across the country, where the Government is expected to buy land and resettle them.

Speaking on behalf of the returnees, Ruth Irungu thanked the Ugandan authorities for accommodating them since 2008 and expressed gratitude for efforts to ensure their return.

Ms Irungu asked the Government to fast-track their resettlement.

“I am appealing to the Government to give us land so that we can restart our lives afresh, and help our children get education.

“We have the sick and the disabled amongst us who are in need of assistance,” she said.

Many of the returnees broke down while disembarking from the bus after the long-day journey that saw them arrive in Kenya on Tuesday evening.

Accompanying the returnees was Uganda's Minister for Disaster Preparedness, Relief and Refugees Hillary Onek, who said 6,500 Kenyans took asylum in Uganda in 2008, of which 5,000 had voluntarily returned home.

Mr Onek said the 705 refugees were part of the remaining 1,350 that have also accepted to come back, with only 150 claiming they were not ready to return.

He said 645 individuals will also make their way home in the next five days once those in the temporary camp have exited.

Onek further added that his ministry plans to dialogue with the refugees in Uganda whose countries are now peaceful so that they can voluntarily go back to their respective countries.

“In Uganda we have about 500,000 refugees drawn from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Rwanda and Southern Sudan. We are working out their possible return,” he said.