The refugees were residing at a camp in Dukwi, on the plains of eastern Botswana, about two hours’ drive from the provincial capital of Francistown. According to the Botswana Daily, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) also favoured the camp being closed. Dukwi camp was established by the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in 1978 to accommodate refugees from what was then known as Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). There were also refugees from Namibia as well as Angola, the scene of Africa’s longest and bloodiest civil conflict after the Portuguese left in 1975. Last year, the Botswana government said it wanted the about 3,500 refugees and asylum seekers to return to their countries of origin.

Source: Daily Nation May 17, 2018 13:18 UTC