COVID-19: DRC to repatriate Congolese stranded in Rwanda

The Democratic Republic of Congo is preparing to repatriate the Congolese stranded in Rwanda following the measure of border closings linked to the coronavirus.

In a press release dated April 08, 2020, the charge d’affaires  of the DRC embassy in Rwanda asked all Congolese who are “visiting or in transit” in this country destined for the DRC to introduce themselves to ” urgently “at the embassy.

Those concerned must bring their travel documents and possibly their plane tickets for their registration and repatriation, wrote Alice Bamba Kimpembe.

Since March 20, the borders have been closed and commercial air links suspended in the DRC. On the Kigali side, all commercial flights have been suspended since Friday, March 20 for a period of 30 days, with the exception of cargo flights and emergency flights. Rwanda’s land borders have been closed since March 21.

During a PM meeting on April 8, Prime Minister Sylvestre Ilunga Ilunkamba, several members of the government as well as officials of the security services studied the possibility of repatriating the Congolese stranded abroad after the closure of the borders to avoid COVID-19 importation.