Congolese refugees overwhelm Kyangwali Settlement Camp

The conflict in the eastern DR Congo has put the Kyangwali refugee settlement camp in Kikuube district in a state of crisis, as over 400 refugees cross to Uganda per day.

Kyangwali settlement camp, according to the Office of the Prime Minister, is receiving an unexpected surge of refugees, with about four hundred new refugees per day since the start of the year.

According to Tophious Chali, the Kyangwali Refugee Settlement commandant, they are currently receiving between 350 and 500 asylum seekers per day from Congo, through the Sebagoro landing site.

This has caused congestion at the camp, with the camp hardly able to offer the necessary support, in terms of food, due to limited resources following the recent cut of donor aid by the US president, Donald Trump.

Conflict-affected persons find themselves in a desperate situation, with many unmet vital humanitarian needs, such as access to education, food, and psychosocial support.

She said, previously, the Kyangwali refugee settlement used to receive less than 50 asylum seekers from Congo; however, since January 2025, the numbers have been increasing.

“For instance, by Friday last week, the camp had received 1,063 refugees in the space of three days at Kagoma Reception Centre awaiting registration,” Chali said.

At Sebagoro transit centre on Lake Albert, high-nutrient biscuits were offered by the World Food Programme (WFP), while hot meals were served at Kagoma reception centre.

“The number of refugees coming into the country is big; normally as numbers increase, resources increase, but now as numbers increase, resources go down,” she said.

While Kyangwali camp capacity stands at 200,000 refugees, by the end of February, they had already registered 145,000 with fear of a refugee number explosion.

Health and education

Chali said the most affected sectors are health and education, where a number of NGOs and donors in Kyangwali have pulled out. This has seen the reduction of food rations, with more threat of reducing plots from 30 to 50, due to ever-increasing refugees.

She the settlement reportedly faced numerous challenges, from poor access roads and lack of infrastructure to inadequate clean and safe water.

According to the new arrivals and the local security personnel, the influx started as a result of intertribal conflict in parts of Djugu territory, located in the Ituri Province of the DR Congo.

Djugu territory, which appears to be the epicentre of the clashes that led to the fight of Congolese, is among others inhabited by the Lendu, Bagegere, Hema and Ngiti communities, who for some time now have witnessed intercommunal clashes.

Some of the Congolese refugees dock at Sebagoro landing site in Kikuube district.

Robert Kwesiga, the Uganda Red Cross Society secretary general, advises the Government to consider being frugal and using the available limited resources efficiently, warning of tough times ahead.

WFP boss speaks out

According to Marcus Prior, the acting country director UN World Food Programme (WFP) Uganda, an influx of over 41,000 new arrivals from DR Congo since January is placing significant pressure on the already strained resources.

According to Prior, transit centres are beyond capacity.

He said Sebagoro Transit Centre has seen over 120 daily increases in new arrivals, an increase from the daily average of 50 people. While Nyakabande Transit Centre in the southwest, which was meant to host 850 people, it is now sheltering over 5,000.

On March 12, the centre registered over 1,200 new arrivals. This surge exceeds the food and nutrition assistance WFP had planned.

“WFP’s food stocks are critically low, sufficient for only one month in some parts, while recent ration cuts due to funding shortages have reduced assistance for the existing 1.8 million refugees. WFP’s ability to support the new arrivals is compromised, without additional funding, risking further ration cuts for refugees,” Prior said.

He said there is a significant risk that food assistance could cease by June this year, at the current rate of arrivals and funding levels if additional funding is not secured.

“In the southwestern region, refugee food stocks are critically low, enough for just two weeks to a month, depending on the refugee transit point or settlement,” Prior said.

He said WFP urgently requires $54m to assist the over 1.4 million refugees in Uganda, where a $62m funding shortfall has led to drastic ration cuts.

“This funding is vital to prevent hunger and malnutrition, sustain and scale critical nutrition interventions, target supplement food programmes, and stabilise refugee upheaval due to rationing while supporting refugee self-reliance programmes,” he said.