Immigrants from Tanzania camp in Rakai

By Dismus Buregyeya   

OVER 500 illegal migrants from Tanzania have camped at Mutukula border area in Rakai district.

The migrants mainly of Rwandese origin started arriving in Mutukula last week after they were expelled from Tanzania.

The Southern Regional police Commander (RPC), Maxwell Ogwal, said the illegal migrants have camped in Mutukura with close to 4000 heads of cattle.

Ogwal visited the illegal migrants at Mutukura on Monday to assess the situation.

  He said the police and other security agencies are currently registering the illegal migrants who have crossed into Uganda.

 Initially local security sources told Vision online that already about 5000 illegal migrants from Rwanda, Burundi, Congo and Tanzania had migrated to Uganda taking advantage of the short cut routes at the Tanzania border.

Some of the migrants integrated in the communities at Kasensero landing site Rakai district and other landing sites in Masaka and Kalangala districts are doing petty jobs.

The Mutukula border post liason officer, Chris Karakire said so far women and children make the majority of the illegal migrants who have camped in Mutukula.

The families are arriving in small groups with between 20 to 50 heads of cattle.  He said some of the migrants have rented houses in Mutukula. Some of the migrants claim to have relatives in Rakai and were requesting security authorities to allow them to join the families in the community.

 However security authorities have not allowed them to move to other families in Mutukula and Rakai. Foreign Affairs Minister, Sam Kutesa, promised to give an official statement after consultations.