In yet another uncompromising stance on the issue of refugees, government, through the Ministry of Homeland Security, has revoked the partnership it had with an organisation it has been working with on refugee issues at Dzaleka Camp in Dowa District.
Since the launch of the campaign to relocate the refugees back to the camp from the areas where they have settled across the country, the ministry has taken a whipping from various quarters, local and international, for reportedly breaching conventions related to refugee rights.
But government has been steadfast on its campaign, arguing that Malawi is not against refugees staying in the country per se but that they must do so according to the existing laws.
It has also argued that it is undertaking the exercise to flush out criminal elements among the refugees, to the extent that it has facilitated the deportation of some Rwandese refugees wanted in their country for alleged crimes.
Now in the latest move, government has cut ties with Inua Advocacy which has been operating from inside Dzaleka Refugee Camp.
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The organisation’s Chief Executive Officer Innocent Magambi and spokesperson for the Ministry of Homeland Security Patrick Botha have confirmed revocation of the partnership in separate interviews.
Botha said Inua is currently not allowed to have its offices in the Dzaleka Refugee Camp.
He further said the government, through the Commissioner for Refugees office, communicated the developments to all the stakeholders, including the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).
Magambi said although government has revoked the partnership, this has not stopped or interfered with the organisation’s advocacy work for refuges and asylum seekers in Malawi.
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Botha could not tell Malawi News the reasons for the ministry’s decision.
However, other sources at the ministry claim that the organisation has been soliciting donations in the name of refugees and asylum seekers but the money has not been trickling down to the refugees at the camp, hence the termination of the partnership.
Magambi has since dismissed this allegation, saying the organisation has audit reports that speak about how clean Inua’s operations have been.
“This is an organisation that I founded and have led for 15 years. Money and power are not what motivate my work. It is passion, driven by lived experience,” Magambi said.
He, however, told Malawi News that he believes that revocation of the partnership has come about because the organisation has been openly against the forced refugee re-encampment plans by the Ministry of Homeland Security.
“Since we openly opposed the forced re-enactment, the government asked us to vacate our premises inside Dzaleka; we promptly did, and we have since been operating outside the camp in accordance with the guidance granted by the Registrar General, NGO Regulatory Authority (Ngora) and Congoma,” Magambi said.
He said since June 2021, Inua has been a cooperating partner of the Ministry of Homeland Security under the Dzaleka Refugee Programme.
“This meant we took part in partners meetings and could operate an office inside the camp with the primary mandate of supporting the country’s advocacy for refugee rights,” he said.
In the latest showdown against the government, last week, Inua condemned what it called misrepresentation of facts by the Malawi delegation to the 77th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in Arusha, the United Republic of Tanzania.
Inua said the local delegation which was led by Principal State Advocate, Duncan Zikagwa, presented a picture of the refugee situation in Malawi that does not align with the ground realities.
It claims that government lied to the commission that it has always made appropriate provisions for the safe stay of all refugees and asylum seekers in Malawi and that it has followed this guiding principle in the recent refugee relocation exercise.
Magambi said government’s presentation on the matter whitewashed the dire situation which refugees and asylum seekers are facing in the country.
“Contrary to the claims made by the Malawi delegation, the refugee relocation exercise has been marred by systematic violations including loss of property, unlawful detention of children and women, forced and unlawful deportations, extortions, xenophobic narratives by authorities, corruption, and robberies targeting refugees and asylum seekers,” he said.
He said the Malawi representatives also failed to address the issue of overcrowding of the Dzaleka Refugee Camp.
Established in 1994 to accommodate 12,000 people, the camp is now said to be hosting over 50,000 refugees.
Magambi said the refugee situation in Malawi demands urgent attention and that the misrepresentation of facts by the Malawi delegation undermines the efforts of organizations and advocates working to protect the rights and dignity of refugees.
He said his organization has since called on the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and all people of goodwill to recognize the severity of the situation, to conduct an independent investigation, and to hold those responsible for human rights violations against refugees and asylum seekers in Malawi accountable.
