Government has given refugees and asylum seekers residing in the rural and urban areas in Malawi up to April 15, 2023 to relocate to Dzaleka Refugee camp in Dowa.

The notice comes five months after the government failed to implement the plan amidst calls from the indigenous business community to have about 8 000 refugees who had settled outside the Dzaleka refugee camp relocated.

Dzaleka plays home to 48 000 refugees, four times its capacity

In a statement, Minister of Homeland Security Ken Zikhale Ng’oma said the government is obliged to protect refugees and asylum seekers in designated camps, therefore, they are required to reside there for their own safety.

“It is in this respect that Dzaleka Refugees Camp was established with assistance from UNHCR where appropriate provisions and required international standards for a safe stay for all refugees and asylum seekers are provided,” reads part of the statement.

Ng’oma further said the notice is in light of the High Court decision of August 12 2022 which require all refugees and asylum seekers in the rural areas to relocate to Dzaleka Refugee Camp by November 30, 2022.

The notice further stated that all refugees and asylum seekers residing in the urban areas relocate to Dzaleka Refugee Camp by February 1st 2023.

He said: “This was ample time to allow all those affected to make all the necessary arrangements and settlements. Government appreciates the efforts of all those that have returned to the camp following the deadline set and calls upon those that have not done so to immediately adhere to the notice.”

According to Ng’oma, only State Agencies such as the Malawi Police Service and the Department of Immigration and Citizenship Services as well as the Refugees and Asylum Seekers themselves will be involved in the relocation processes.

“If any person or group of persons is found meddling in this process or harassing the refugees and asylum seekers in any way, the government will ensure that such individuals are met with the full arm of the law,” he said.

However, Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) executive director Michael Kaiyatsa earlier, expressed concern with the use of police officers in relocating refugees and asylum seekers saying it might subject them to abuse.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has in a number of times urged the government to reconsider its position on relocating self-sufficient and productive refugees to Dzaleka Camp.

UNHCR observed that critical underfunding is impacting service provision for refugees and asylum seekers in the country.

Indigenous small-scale traders want the government to speed up the process arguing that their businesses have been pathetically squeezed by the influx of the refugees.

Last year, the Ministry directed that refugees living in the rural areas return to Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Dowa by the end of November 2022, while those in urban areas were given January 31 2023 as the deadline.

This was after the April 2021 directive for all refugees and asylum seekers to return to the camp, which was followed by the courts granting permission to apply for a judicial review and stay of the government’s decision.

In August 2022, High Court of Malawi Judge Mandala Mambulasa vacated the injunction, which gave government powers to implement the directive immediately, leading to the two new deadlines.

Dzaleka is home to refugees and asylum-seekers from Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Somalia.

The camp was meant to accommodate about 10 000 refugees but now is home to more than 50 000.

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