Rwanda is requesting a 50 million-pound ($63.62 million) payment from Britain for a cancelled asylum deal, according to a source close to the government in Kigali. This request follows London’s decision to pause some bilateral aid to Rwanda due to concerns about the country’s role in the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Upon assuming office last July, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer terminated the previous Conservative government’s asylum plan, which would have involved Rwanda receiving payments to accept migrants who had entered Britain illegally. Yvette Cooper, the incoming interior minister, said the plan had already cost the UK taxpayers $890 million.
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In an emailed statement, a British government official said Cooper had made it clear that the Rwanda asylum cooperation was a waste of public funds and should not go forward.
“As stated clearly in notes verbale between the UK and Rwanda, no further payments in relation to this policy will be made and Rwanda has waived any additional payments,” the spokesperson said on Tuesday.
However, a source close to the Rwandan government has stated that Kigali is seeking the $63.62 million payment for the cancelled agreement.
Rwanda’s government spokesperson Yolande Makolo attributed the demand to Britain’s stance towards Kigali, including remarks by Britain’s Minister for Africa that she described as inflammatory. “The UK had asked Rwanda to quietly forego the payment based on the trust and good faith existing between our two nations,” Makolo said in a post on X late on Monday. “However, the UK has breached this trust through the unjustified punitive measures to coerce Rwanda into compromising our national security,” she added.
UK Withdraws Bilateral Aid To Rwanda
Last week, Britain announced it would pause some bilateral aid to Rwanda and impose other diplomatic sanctions over its role in the conflict in neighboring DR Congo, a move Kigali deemed “punitive.”
Rwanda is facing international pressure due to accusations that it supports the M23 rebels which, since January, has captured parts of eastern Congo, including the cities of Goma and Bukavu, and valuable mineral deposits.
Kigali denies backing the group but claims its own troops are acting in self-defense against hostile groups based in DRC.
Under the asylum deal, Britain was scheduled to make payments of $63.62 million to Rwanda in April of this year and next, according to parliament’s spending watchdog, the National Audit Office (NAO). The NAO also indicated that either Britain or Rwanda could activate a break clause effective three months later. This would relieve Britain of further payment obligations, except for expenses linked to relocated individuals. Britain only sent four people to Rwanda under a voluntary scheme.
Source: The EastAfrican
