Refugees celebrate their day as memories of near-death experience haunt them

Burundian traditional drum jump dancers entertain guests at the World Refugee Day at Nairobi University. [David Gichuru/Standard]

If the world was a perfect place, Museveni Rugambwa would now be somewhere in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

He visualises himself with a newly-earned degree from the University of Goma and perhaps working or searching for a job.

But misfortunes from seeds of ethnic discord sown by agents of political greed saw him flee his country. Alongside many victims, the 28-year-old became the metaphorical ‘other’ forced to seek refuge in Kenya with fading hope of ever returning home.

Narrow escape

Neither the sounds of drums he beats with vigour nor the guitar strings he plucks with compassion have drowned the memories of how he narrowly escaped death. Neither does the anxious faces of other refugees he nurtures their music talent nor welcoming greetings from Kenyans who wave as they pass by his Born to Praise (Bortopra) music studio in Kasarani, Nairobi, offer him much hope of returning home.

The fate of Rugambwa mirrors that of many others highlighted in the Economic Development Report 2018, by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, indicating that intra-African migration rose from 12.5 million in 2000 to 19.4 million in 2017.

He remembers the unfortunate day in September 2014 when he ventured out of his Gaseke village in Eastern DRC towards Bukavu town, not knowing it would be his last contact with his hamlet. He was on his way to the University of Goma to apply for admission.

Before reaching Bukavu town, the overloaded public service vehicle he had boarded was stopped by suspected Mayi-Mayi militia group wearing camouflaged military attire.

“One stopped in front of the car holding a gun. There were a dozen others on the bushy roadside smoking and watching us,” recalls Rugambwa.

The militia ordered them out of the car and separated those who could not speak their language. They were about seven of them who were hapless as the rest were told to proceed with the journey.

Panic shook him to the bone as the gang contemplated the treatment it wanted to serve the victims.

Fearing that the militia would not spare their lives, Rugambwa thought of an escape plan and whispered the idea to another victim.

“Death was coming. I could smell it. It was better to die running than to sit and wait for slaughter,” says Rugambwa.

He and his newfound friend escaped from the group and ran into the bush as gunshots rang out. They were lucky to escape with no injuries.

“We heard more gunshots when we were almost a kilometre away. We knew the remaining five victims were killed. We overheard some villagers later confirming it,” he recalls as he fights back tears.

They found a settlement where a Good Samaritan from the same community as the killers hosted them for a night before they proceeded to Uvira town. In the town, another Good Samaritan, having heard their tribulations, paid their bus fare to Bukavu town.

“I then went to Goma town to seek admission into the university to study conflict resolution, but people around the institution said I was a foreigner and threatened to kill me if I stayed,” says Rugambwa.

He stayed for a month after failing to provide the documents to facilitate his admission into the university.

He was required to return home and get the documents but the fear of another encounter with the militia chilled him to the bone.

“The threats of not being part of the majority community in Goma was worrying. I received many threats and opted to flee to Uganda,” he narrates.

It was in Uganda that he met a fellow Congolese, who promised to get him into Kenya and they travelled together. They arrived in January 2015 and survived by working in construction sites.

And on Wednesday, as the world celebrated World Refugee Day, Rugambwa was uneasy at his music instrument training centre.

Surrounding him were a dozen ambitious artistes, some refugees like himself, while others are street urchins who dropped out of school.

He trains them on playing drums, guitar and piano and assists those starting with composing songs. His talent, he claims, started at a young age when his acquaintance introduced him to the art.

“Those who have money pay me Sh1, 500 per month. We make money by playing as a band in crusades while some of us are in various churches playing instruments,” says Rugambwa.

The refugees from troubled countries, including DRC, Burundi and Eritrea, assemble at his place every day where they practice together as they console each other of their haunting past.

He has over 60 students in Nairobi and last month, a group of 11 ‘graduated’ after acquiring the necessary skills.

War-torn Burundi

Remy Nsengiyumva, 37, displaced last year from war-torn Burundi, helps Rugambwa with the training and has released a number of songs including Hakuna Vita Kali Kama Njaa (There is no greater war than hunger), among others.

“I sing in crusades and get paid,” said Nsengiyumva, a father of three who lives with his family in Kasarani.

Similarly, 26-year-old Benjamin Ishimwe from Burundi, currently a guitar tutor, arrived in 2015 after graduating with a degree in business studies in 2012 from the University of Burundi.

“I cannot get a job but at least I am safe,” said Nsengiyumva.

For Rugambwa, who has since been joined by his two sisters who fled DRC for fear of their lives, the future is uncertain for his country.