Rwanda asking UK for £50m over cancelled asylum deal, source says

Rwanda is asking Britain for a £50m (R1.1bn) payment over a cancelled asylum deal, a source close to the government in Kigali said on Tuesday, after London paused some bilateral aid to the African country over the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

On taking office last July, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer scrapped the prior Conservative government's asylum plan under which Rwanda would have been paid to take in migrants who had illegally arrived in Britain.

Incoming interior minister Yvette Cooper said that month the plan had cost UK taxpayers £700m (R16.5bn).

A British government spokesperson said in an emailed statement Cooper had been clear the Rwanda asylum partnership had wasted taxpayer money and should not continue.

“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.

A source close to the Rwandan government told Reuters Kigali was asking for £50m over the cancelled agreement.

Yolande Makolo, Rwanda's government spokesperson, said the demand was driven by Britain's stance towards Kigali, including what she described as inflammatory comments by Britain's minister for Africa.

“The UK had asked Rwanda to quietly forgo 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 the trust through the unjustified punitive measures to coerce Rwanda into compromising our national security,” she said.

Last week, Britain said it would pause some bilateral aid to Rwanda and impose other diplomatic sanctions over its role in the conflict in neighbouring DRC, a move Kigali called “punitive”.

Rwanda is facing global pressure over accusations it supports the M23 rebel group which, since January, has captured swathes of eastern DRC, including the cities of Goma and Bukavu, and valuable mineral deposits.

Kigali denies backing the group and said its own troops are acting in self-defence against hostile groups based in the DRC.

Under the asylum deal, Britain was due to make payments of 5£0m to Rwanda in April this year and next, parliament's spending watchdog the National Audit Office (NAO) said last year.

The NAO said Britain or Rwanda could activate a break clause that would take effect three months later. This meant Britain would not have to make further payments, apart from covering costs associated with people who were relocated, the NAO said.

Britain only sent four people to Rwanda under a voluntary scheme.

Reuters