Rwandan refugees begin return from Mozambique

A section of Rwandan refugees living in Mozambique have begun their return home after nearly three decades since they escaped the 1994 genocide.

“Between April and June 1994, an estimated 800,000 Rwandans were killed in the space of 100 days. Millions others fled to neighbouring countries.” 

The Mozambican authorities estimate that there are about 3,000 Rwandan refugees living in the country.

Many of them now believe that the situation that forced them to leave their country has changed.

The Rwandan government is supporting the refugee reintegration programme. The return is voluntary and some 19 refugees will this week be flown back home.

One of the refugees, Miyonsenoa Domoties, says “she was confident of the peace in Rwanda and was returning home after spending eight years in Mozambique.” 

“We chose to flee to Mozambique. But after some time, good information arrived indicating that there was peace in Rwanda, so we have decided to go home,” she said.

The genocide was sparked by the death of the Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana, a Hutu, when his plane was shot down above Kigali airport on April 6 1994.

BBC/Christopher Ojilere