Cape Town - The refugees at the Central Methodist Mission Church in Cape Town’s Greenmarket Square have been told to either return to the communities where they were living before they came to the CBD in October or find new communities where they feel safe.
Human Rights Commissioner Chris Nissen said: “The ball is now in their court and whatever they decide, they will have support from civil society, the UNHCR and the City of Cape Town.”
The refugees have a few days to decide what they will do. In the meantime, officers from the Department of Home Affairs are to embark on an exercise to enumerate and document those of the group who require paperwork to assist them to claim asylum or refugee status, while verifying the bona fides of those with correct
documentation.
Nissen said: “The process of verification will take a few days. However, it is no longer tenable for the refugees to stay in the church. There is the hygiene issue and also, next week schools reopen and this situation cannot continue.”
At the church, the refugees, who had split into two groups - one loyal to their now jailed spokesperson Jean-Pierre Balous and the other to his former deputy, Papy Sukami, who is also in police custody - appear to have reunited under the leadership of Aline Bukuru, founder of Women and Children Concern, who has until recently been leading another group of refugees in Pretoria.
Bukuru, who is reportedly married to Balous, said in the church yesterday: “During the meeting we had this morning with Nissen, Home Affairs, the UNHCR and the City, they said they are ready to help us, but this help will not be immediate.
“It is a process.
“At this stage in the process, we agree that we cannot... stay in (the church) and we need to have a compound or a new place where we can be,” said Burkuru.
Of the recent divisions among the refugees, Bukuru said: “The split was instigated by outsiders in a bid to divide and rule. Those people did not want to see us united and speaking about our rights...”
Disagreeing with Nissen’s contention about the only options open to the refugees, Bukuru said: “It is now up to the City to identify alternative accommodation or temporary shelter.
“We know it is a process, but we also understand that it is necessary, as Home Affairs said they cannot come to the church to carry out their verification exercise as it is too small a space.”
@MwangiGithahu