OCHA Situation Report No. 5
Uganda: Kenyan Refugees
24 January 2008


Source:
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

HIGHLIGHTS

- TRANSFER OF REFUGEES FROM RECEPTION CENTRES TO MULANDA TRANSIT SITE 
BEGAN 23 JANUARY ? TO DATE 951 REFUGEES HAVE OPTED TO MOVE

- TOTAL NUMBER OF REGISTERED KENYAN REFUGEES IN UGANDA IS 6,219

The information contained in this report has been gathered by the Office 
for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) from sources 
including the Government of Uganda, UN agencies, non-governmental 
organizations and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red 
Crescent Societies (IFRC).

1. The situation in Kenya has remained tense in the past week, with 
continued violence and lawlessness reported. From 16 to 18 January, the 
opposition Orange Democratic Movement called for protests across Kenya, 
which gatherings were vigorously dispersed by Kenya National Police. 
Since 16 January, dozens of Kenyans have reportedly been killed in the 
continuing violence that has seized the country since the contested 
elections of 27 December 2007. The Government of Kenya currently puts 
the number of people displaced internally at 222,177.

2. The number of newly-arrived refugees registering at the reception 
sites in the border districts of Uganda has lessened in recent days, 
with only four new arrivals registered on 21 January, as opposed to 67 
on 20 January. According to border officials, new arrivals into Uganda 
are increasingly requesting entry as visitors and/or students, rather 
than refugees. Few people are travelling into Kenya.

3. As of 21 January, the total number of registered Kenyan refugees in 
Uganda was 6,219, although Government of Uganda estimates put the figure 
at 6,590.

Source: URCS (21 January 2008)

|--------+--------------------+----------|
|District| Location/reception |Population|
|        |       center       |          |
|--------+--------------------+----------|
|Tororo  |St. Jude P/S -      |     1,996|
|        |Malaba              |          |
|--------+--------------------+----------|
|Busia   |Busia Integrated P/S|     2,438|
|--------+--------------------+----------|
|Manafwa |Bumbo P/S           |       319|
|--------+--------------------+----------|
|        |Lwakhakha           |       386|
|--------+--------------------+----------|
|Bukwo   |                    |     1,080|
|--------+--------------------+----------|
|Total   |                    |     6,219|
|--------+--------------------+----------|


Note: Registration at the main reception centres has been suspended 
since 22 January in preparation for the transfer of the Kenyan refugees 
to the Mulanda transit site. An unconfirmed number of refugees are 
reported to be in Nakapiripirit District, while the earlier reports of 
refugees in Bududa District were confirmed by the Uganda Red Cross 
Society (URCS) as primarily consisting of Ugandans married to Kenyans 
returning to their homes during the tense times. Additionally, the total 
number of refugees in Bukwo and Manafwa Districts, where the majority 
are living within the host community, remain estimates, not confirmed 
figures.

4. Over the past week, the main focus of the humanitarian response to 
the Kenyan refugees in Uganda has been preparing for and facilitating 
the transfer of the refugee population from the various reception 
centres established at the main points of entry in Malaba (Tororo 
District), Busia (Busia District) and Lwakhakha and Bumbo (Manafwa 
District) to the transit site at Mulanda (Tororo District), some 35 
kilometres from the Kenyan border.

5. Starting on 22 January, a three-day information campaign organized by 
the United Nations Refugee Agency, the UNHCR, targeted refugee 
populations in Tororo, Busia and Manafwa to present the case for 
transfer and address the refugees' questions and concerns. Officials in 
all the concerned districts participated in the campaign, which was also 
supported by the non-governmental organizations GOAL, Christian 
Children's Fund (CCF) and The Salvation Army, as well as the Uganda Red 
Cross Society (URCS) and OCHA.

For more information, please contact:

Kristen Knutson, Public Information and Donor Liaison Officer, 
OCHA-Uganda: +256 312 244 888, +256 772 759 996 (mobile), 
knutson@un.org; Chris Hyslop, Desk Officer, OCHA-New York: +1 917 367 
9457, hyslopc@un.org; Stephanie Bunker, Public Information Officer, 
OCHA-New York: +1 917 367 5126, +1 917 892 1679 (mobile), bunker@un.org; 
Elisabeth Byrs, Public Information Officer, OCHA-Geneva: +41 22 917 
2653, byrs@un.org.

Attachments:
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/retrieveattachments?openagent&docid=8DC8C0ADB1757BBA852573DA005E1B48&file=Full_Report.pdf

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Appropriate Donations for International Disaster/Humanitarian Needs
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Center for International              web: www.cidi.org
    Disaster Information          listserv: www.cidi.org/listsub.htm
                                guidelines: www.cidi.org/donate.htm
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -