The Rwandan government clarified on Tuesday that the controversial migrant deal with the United Kingdom did not include any provision for the return of funds in response to Britain’s new government’s decision to abandon the scheme.
Deputy government spokesperson Alain Mukuralinda said, “The agreement we signed did not stipulate that we should return the money. Let’s be clear, paying back the money was never part of the agreement.”
In a significant policy shift following his party’s emphatic electoral victory, Britain’s new Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, announced that he intends to abandon the contentious deal, describing it as “dead and buried”.
At least 24,000 asylum seekers were to be transferred to Rwanda, with the UK reportedly paying Rwanda about $176 million for the transfer in June 2022. The UK was also to pay $15,100 for each extra person taken to Rwanda.
The UK aims to decrease the annual number of asylum seekers to less than 100,000. The government has reported 606,000 net immigrations in 2022.