Local
Saturday, 03 May 2008 18:12
Botswana has set up a temporary refugee centre to receive Zimbabweans fleeing politically-motivated violence which began after the disputed 29 March election results.
In a statement released on Friday, the Minister of Defence, Justice and Security, Dikgakgamatso Seretse, said there had been an influx of Zimbabweans seeking refuge and international protection in the aftermath of the polls.
"For some time we have been receiving illegal immigrants from Zimbabwe seeking economic opportunities who have been crossing at un-gazetted entry points into Botswana," he said.
Few of these people sought asylum, Seretse said.
"But, since the elections, we have received a number of people actively seeking political asylum and international protection and alleging they feared for their lives," he said, adding there was a probability the numbers would grow.
The government’s decision to set up the temporary facility comes amid growing fears in the international community that the situation in Zimbabwe was edging towards a full-blown humanitarian crisis.
Last week, Western countries, including Britain and the United States, urged by the MDC, successfully put Zimbabwe on the United Nations Security Council agenda.
They tried to steer the council to adopt a common strategy on the situation in the country where the delayed announcement of the results of the presidential election have sparked a political crisis.
But the government’s allies such as China and Russia blocked the move, saying the election impasse in Zimbabwe was an internal issue not warranting UN intervention.
Both countries sponsored the liberation struggle against white rule, with arms, ammunition and training.
The MDC says 10 of its supporters have been killed and thousands more displaced by marauding Zanu PF militia and war veterans protesting President Robert Mugabe’s defeat at the polls.
A spokesman for presidential candidate Simba Makoni’s Mavambo/Kusile project, Joshua Muhambi said a number of their supporters from Plumtree were last weekend forced to cross the border into Botswana by war veterans terrorising villagers.
Earlier in the week media reports in Botswana cited officials as saying hundreds of Zimbabweans were entering Botswana through undesignated entry points, forcing the authorities there to set up a temporary camp inside the Centre for Illegal Immigrants in Francistown.
Under normal circumstances, Botswana accommodates hundreds of refugees and asylum seekers at the Dukwi Camp near its border with Namibia but authorities said due to the sudden influx, the temporary centre would now be used to screen new arrivals.
The independent Mmegi newspaper quoted Francistown district commissioner, Richard Oaitse, as saying refugees, including children, were being accommodated at the temporary shelter and more were expected last week.
"A tent has been erected within the Centre for Illegal Immigrants so that they don’t mix with other nationalities that are currently at the centre for various reasons," he said.
In the mining town of Selebi Phikwe, which is close to the Zimbabwean border, the district officer, Khumo Keeng, told the paper the refugees were being relayed to Francistown for screening.
Since 2000 about 100 refugees from Zimbabwe have been staying at Dukwi and the centre’s administrator, Ephraim Sekeinya said during the past two years they had not received anyone escaping political persecution.
The camp also housed Zimbabwean refugees during the liberation war.
MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai who beat Mugabe to the presidency has sought temporary refuge in Botswana, saying his personal security was at risk.
This forced Botswana’s new President Seretse Ian Khama to plead with Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa to call an urgent Sadc summit to discuss the political impasse.
Botswana MPs introduced a motion calling on Mugabe to respect the election outcome.
By Kholwani Nyathi
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