The long war in the Democratic Republic of Congo has displaced millions of people. South Africa could do far more to help them, argues the writer. Graphic: Lisa Nelson

South Africa is better able than most African countries to offer refuge to those displaced by the long war in the Democratic Republic of Congo. So why aren’t we doing so?

The fighting in the DRC since 1996, as ethnic wars have spilled over from neighbouring Rwanda, has claimed six-million lives. Since January this year the war has escalated, as rebels supported by Rwandan forces have taken major towns in the resource-rich eastern part of the country.

The DRC itself is home to over half-a-million foreign refugees, mostly from South Sudan, the Central African Republic, Burundi, and Rwanda. Most live in camps outside urban centres, with inadequate access to food, healthcare, shelter, and education.

However, the vast majority of DRC’s refugees are not foreigners but Congolese who have been displaced internally. About 5.6-million Congolese refugees still live within the DRC. Of those, 70% come from the eastern provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu, and Ituri, where the Rwandan-backed M23 militia are most active.

A further one-million people have fled the country completely, mostly to Uganda, where more than 560,000 DRC refugees are living. Since the flare-up of fighting in 2025, however, most refugees are fleeing to Burundi. Over 65,000 people have crossed the border into Burundi since January, peaking at 9,000 in a single day. In a move welcomed by both the DRC government and the UN, Burundi has granted prima facie (assumed to be true unless proven otherwise) refugee status to DRC asylum seekers.

South Africa’s role

Of the African countries providing asylum to Congolese refugees, South Africa has more resources and a more robust system than most. Yet South Africa has taken in relatively few DRC refugees - with the total at only 45,000 by the end of 2024.

In comparison to the rest of Africa, South African refugee law is relatively liberal. The Refugee Act, in particular, allows freedom of movement within the country, freedom of association, the right to work, and access to healthcare and education.

But public sentiment towards refugees is often less welcoming. Some South Africans view immigrants as a threat, contributing to increased crime rates and burdens to state welfare. The problem is not limited to the general public: xenophobia is an issue in institutions like SAPS and the Department of Home Affairs (DHA). The Human Rights Commission has reported harassment from the police, with immigrants of all sorts, whether they are refugees or economic migrants, exposed to bribery and extortion.

Asylum seekers and refugees have reported xenophobia at the DHA. One particular area of concern is DHA’s handling of asylum seeker visas (also called “section 22 visas”). These visas allow the holder to remain in the country while their refugee status is being determined. The visa is only valid for six months, after which the applicant must re-apply. However, the number of asylum seekers processed has steeply declined over the last decades, according to the Scalabrini Institute. This has created a backlog, meaning people wait for years for a decision on their refugee status. Each time applicants are forced to reappear, they risk xenophobia from officials.

Some applicants have reported being made to have multiple (and illegal) interviews with DHA officers where money is extorted from them. Some applicants for a section 22 renewal are told to leave the country without being given a reason. Asylum seekers have been arrested at DHA offices and forcibly deported. The new Minister of Home Affairs, Leon Schreiber, takes pride in the number of foreigners deported, boasting that the Department had tripled deportations from 2023.

This makes proper integration into South African society near impossible. Finding regular employment is difficult as employers can’t be sure the applicant won’t be deported. As a result, refugees are forced into the informal labour market, where they aren’t protected by labour law. Congolese refugees have been described as being in a state of “protracted temporariness,” where they cannot be sure of their status and face deportation or imprisonment. This places a huge emotional burden on people who have already been forced to flee their homes.

The South African Constitution provides that everyone in the country, whether they are citizens or asylum seekers, has the right to basic human dignity. Additionally, the 1951 Refugee Convention, to which South Africa is a signatory, requires states to help asylum seekers navigate the asylum process. Yet, as long as xenophobia remains entrenched in the institutions intended to provide assistance, like the DHA and SAPS, vulnerable people will continue to be exploited.

Nick Fabré is a writer at the People’s Legal Centre. Views expressed are not necessarily those of GroundUp.

Former Chief Justice David Maraga has condemned the violent scenes encountered by Butere Girls’ School students, who were set to perform the ‘Echoes of War’ play during the Kenya Schools and Colleges National Drama and Music Festival in Nakuru County.

Police lobbed teargas at the students, and this act has been condemned by various leaders, the latest being the retired judge, who says the use of force against students is not acceptable. 

“I condemn, in the strongest terms possible, the actions by the police and persons in authority that sanctioned and condoned the recent acts on students of Butere Girls High School at the annual Kenya Schools and Colleges National Drama and Film Festival in connection with their school play ‘Echoes of War’.

“The use of force against minors—children who were engaging in a peaceful, creative, and educational activity—is not only unconscionable but also unconstitutional and therefore totally unacceptable. It is a flagrant violation of the Constitution,” Maraga said in a statement on X posted on Thursday, April 10, 2025.

While condemning the state, Maraga cited Article 33 of the Constitution of Kenya 2010, which guarantees every person the right to freedom of expression, including artistic creativity.

“No child should be punished or endangered for thinking critically, speaking boldly, or performing creatively. Silencing students through force and fear is a direct assault on their constitutional rights.

“The authorities responsible for this heinous violation of students’ rights must remember that in due time they will be held accountable. The wheels of justice, though they grind slowly, will surely give us the country we deserve. The perpetrators will be brought to book someday,” he said.

Defending rights

Maraga added that every citizen has a duty to protect the rights guaranteed under the constitution.

“Let us not raise a generation that fears its own voice, especially when they are constitutional guarantees. Let us protect, nurture, and celebrate the courage of our young people—their voices matter. 

“Any responsible citizen of Kenya, therefore, should play their part in protecting and promoting constitutional guarantees,” he concluded.

At the centre stage of the drama is former Kakamega County Senator Cleophas Malalah, who is the play’s scriptwriter.

The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Faith Odhiambo has condemned the conduct of police officers who teargassed students from Butere Girls High School during the National Drama and Music Festival in Nakuru on Thursday, April 10, 2025.

In a statement posted on her X account shortly after the incident, Odhiambo said the police action was a brutal overreach and an assault on children’s rights. 

“There is no legitimacy that can be claimed by an administration that attacks its children. The most vulnerable, for whose benefit every decision must be made and every necessary action taken, have been turned into victims of state overreach and police impunity,” Odhiambo noted.

She added that while Kenyans are known to endure many challenges, targeting children engaged in creative, extracurricular activities is a red line.

“The people of Kenya can endure a lot, tolerate as much, and even condone some, but we can never be onlookers as our children are maimed for participating in extracurricular activities that have historically produced and nurtured our best talents,” she stated, calling on the National Police Service to be held accountable.

Human rights group Amnesty International Kenya also joined the growing list of voices condemning the incident. The organization described the police action as a clear violation of children’s rights and freedom of expression.

Teargassed

The students were leaving the festival venue when police lobbed teargas in the direction of their school bus. A video shared online shows terrified students coughing and shielding their eyes and noses from the choking fumes. Moments later, a group of police officers was seen escorting the bus out of the premises.

The incident unfolded after Butere Girls’ drama scriptwriter, former Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala, was arrested. While the school was still allowed to perform, the students chose instead to sing the national anthem and leave the stage, saying they had been harassed by police and demanding to know Malala’s whereabouts.

“We were harassed by the police. We went to the stage with nothing — no sound, no décor, nothing. So we sang the National Anthem and left,” one student said. 

“We want our director. We are not performing without our director,” several students shouted in unison.

“Where is Mr. Cleophas? We want him. We are not going back to Butere,” they said making it clear that without his presence and proper conditions, their performance would remain indefinitely suspended. By Ascah Mwango. People Daily

A group of senior SPLM-IO party members in Juba on Wednesday endorsed Stephen Par Kuol, the country’s peacebuilding minister, as the party’s interim leader, replacing detained chairman Dr. Riek Machar.

Kuol will serve until Machar is released from house arrest. However, the meeting to establish the interim leadership was largely boycotted by top SPLM-IO officials, including Interior Minister Angelina Teny, Mining Minister Martin Abucha and Secretary-General Regina Kaba.

The faction supporting Kuol includes Federal Affairs Minister Lasuba Wango, Council of States Speaker Deng Deng Akon and former Deputy Finance Minister Agok Makur. Analysts say the controversial move could lead to Machar’s removal as first vice president, a position created for him under Article 1.7.2 of the 2018 Revitalized Agreement.

This marks the second major rift within Machar’s party. In July 2016, then-chief negotiator Taban Deng, now vice president, replaced Machar after deadly clashes in Juba.

Addressing reporters after the meeting at a hotel, Kuol said discussions focused on peace commitments, the status of deputy chairman Oyet Nathaniel and the formation of interim leadership amid Machar’s detention.

“The SPLM-IO reaffirms its unwavering commitment to the implementation of the Revitalized Peace Agreement, both in letter and spirit,” Kuol said. “We believe this agreement is the sole pathway to lasting peace and reconciliation among South Sudan’s diverse communities.”

He called for Machar’s immediate release and an end to military clashes between government forces and SPLA-IO fighters.

“The National Liberation Council urgently calls for the immediate release of SPLM-IO Chairman Dr. Riek Machar Teny and all comrades detained following recent clashes in Nasir involving armed civilians and the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces,” Kuol said. “This detention undermines the principles of peace and dialogue essential for our nation’s recovery.”

He added: “The SPLM-IO leadership urges parties involved in ongoing military offensives to create an environment conducive to peaceful dialogue. The SSPDF’s advance toward Ulang County, particularly efforts to redeploy in Nasir Town, must halt to allow political solutions.”

Regarding Nathaniel, Kuol said the Juba-based group had cut ties with him.

“We delink ourselves from Hon. Nathaniel Oyet Pierino and henceforth resolve to treat him as former deputy chairman and commander-in-chief,” he said. “This decision is informed by the fact that SPLM-IO headquarters has been in Juba since the unity government’s formation. The party cannot be led by self-exiled leaders—decisions are made where the government is established, not remotely.”

Kuol announced the interim leadership: himself as chairperson, Losuba Ludoru Wongo as interim deputy and Agok Makur Kur as interim secretary-general.

When asked if the decision aligned with the 2018 peace agreement or amounted to a coup, Kuol dismissed the suggestion.

“The decision is in line with the agreement. The NLC is the lawmaking body of SPLM-IO, so it is legitimate and constitutional,” he said. “Is this a coup? A coup against whom? Our chairman remains Dr. Riek Machar Teny until the next convention. We have resolved a leadership crisis caused by his detention and the desertion of other leaders.”

On Monday, Nathaniel suspended Kuol and three others, accusing them of conspiring with President Salva Kiir to oust Machar. Kuol called the suspension “the joke of the year.”

Since Machar’s detention, several senior SPLM-IO members have fled the country or gone into hiding. Tensions escalated after Kiir placed Machar under house arrest on March 26 following clashes in Upper Nile state that killed a general and several soldiers.

South Sudan’s government sought military support from Uganda, with Defense Minister Jacob Oboth confirming Kiir’s March 10 request to avert a security crisis.

The rift coincides with a two-year extension of South Sudan’s transitional period, delaying elections until December 2026.

Regional concerns over instability prompted an African Union delegation to visit Juba last week, though they were barred from meeting Machar. The visit followed mediation efforts by regional bloc IGAD, led by Kenyan envoy Raila Odinga, who said his request to meet Machar was denied. Radio Tamazuj