By Mulengera Reporters
During her media briefing at Uganda Media Centre of Tuesday, a journalist asked the information minister Justine Kasule Lumumba to explain whether the economic difficulties afflicting contemporary Uganda would cause the GoU to reconsider its open-door policy of letting as many refugees as possible.
She admitted the matter was among the different things that came up and were discussed during the Monday cabinet meeting at State House Entebbe and that the country’s open-door policy was restated and it was made clear this would remain the position for as long as Museveni remains President.
Lumumba said this view has entrenched support inside Cabinet for many reasons including the fact that President Museveni, who chairs Cabinet, himself was once a refugee in foreign countries and therefore understands what it means to be one-and generally why Uganda ought to be compassionate to those unable to comfortably live in their home countries.
She added that not all people fleeing home countries coming to Uganda do so purely for political reasons. She said some leave for reasons related to climate change and gave the example of South Sudanese who constitute a greater majority of the more than 1.8m refugees currently living in Uganda.
The Minister explained that many of the people perceived to be refugees are actually relatives of people who call themselves Ugandans. Blaming it all on colonial borders which she called artificial and undesirable, Lumumba said when the Bakonzo refugees move from DRC to Uganda, they have simply come to live with their co-ethnics living across the border. She said the same of the Samias and Luhya’s crossing from Kenya into Uganda.
Rwandan refugees should be looked at in the same way. Lumumba also claimed that there is nothing wrong with Acholis moving from South Sudan into Uganda because they have their brothers and sisters in Northern Uganda. That actually more Acholis live in South Sudan than in Uganda.
She said all these ethnic similarities should make Ugandans feel comfortable when such migrations of so-called refugees happen. She said its only Eritreans and Somalis who don’t have ethnic similarities with people living in Uganda but they too ought to be tolerated on humanitarian grounds.
She called on Ugandans to prepare themselves for more influx of refugees because their government is determined to keep the door wide open regardless of whether the international community contributes finances for their livelihood or not.
She said Uganda (whose big man YK Museveni is lucky in that he can bring in as many such refugees as possible without worrying about the public opinion which in other countries can cause protests and deepen government unpopularity) feels a Pan-African duty and obligation never to deny entry to any refugee.
Lumumba also said its possible the actual number of refugees in Uganda could be much higher than what is officially recorded because many refugees live in Uganda without being appropriately documented. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
