History of Kiryandongo refugee settlement, Kiryandongo district, western Uganda 1954-2018

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the history of Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement, Kiryandongo district from 1954-2018. It analysed the geography of the place, how the name Kiryandongo came about, and described the place of Kiryandongo and its people during the colonial period. It showed the genesis of her becoming a refugee settlement area. The study examined Uganda‘s refugee laws and policies and how they influenced the flows of refugees in Kiryandongo in post-colonial Uganda. This was guided by three specific objectives which were: to trace the origins and history of Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement; to analyse the refugee flows and how they influenced the growth of Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement, and to examine the changes and transformation in Kiryandongo after the arrival of refugees. The study adopted a qualitative approach; data was collected using documentary review guide and oral interviews. Purposive sampling method was adopted to identify key informants who were interviewed. Data was analysed using documentary analysis and organised in themes that resulted into different chapters in this dissertation. Findings indicate that the name Kiryandongo was hatched from the historic relations with the Congolese, the British wars led to depopulation and land was made government ranches, part of which was later transformed into a refugee settlement. Refugees have transformed Kiryandongo, since her becoming a district in 2009 was intended to extend services to the people including refugees. Four major refugee flows were mapped and they are South Sudanese, Kenyans, Congolese and Rwandese. Other occcupants of the settlement are internally displaced persons from Acholi and Bugishu Sub regions. Their arrival promoted a number of changes and transformation leading to peaceful co-existence, integration and reducing government burden on refugees. This breaks the narratives that hosting refugees threaten the host country‘s security, wastage of tax payers‘ money and development of under development. The study opens room for historical documentation of other Refugee Settlements in Uganda