The United Kingdom has officially stated that it will not make any further payments to Rwanda following the collapse of the controversial migrant deal between the two countries.
On Monday, Rwanda’s government spokesperson, Yolande Makolo, accused the UK of secretly asking Rwanda to forgo the remaining £50 million (over 90 billion Rwandan francs) that had yet to be paid under the agreement. Makolo claimed that Britain justified this request based on “mutual trust” between the two governments.
Rwanda has since formally demanded the UK honor the payment, accusing London of breaching the agreement and suspending development aid to Rwanda. A statement from the UK government confirmed that no further payments related to the migrant deal will be made and that Rwanda has forfeited any additional funds under the agreement.
This financial dispute comes after the UK announced last month that it would halt all aid to Rwanda, except for assistance targeting “the most vulnerable populations”. The UK’s decision was driven by allegations that Rwanda is militarily supporting the M23 rebels, who have seized vast areas of North and South Kivu, including the provincial capitals of Goma and Bukavu.
The UK joins a growing list of Western nations sanctioning Rwanda over its role in the conflict. The United States, Belgium, Canada, and Germany have all imposed punitive measures on Kigali, citing Rwanda’s alleged military involvement in eastern DRC. Rwanda has consistently dismissed these sanctions as unfounded and counterproductive, arguing that they do not contribute to solving the crisis in the DRC.
In response to the UK’s decision, Makolo criticized the move, calling it “baseless” and an attempt to undermine Rwanda’s security. She added that due to Britain’s actions, Rwanda is now pursuing legal avenues to recover the remaining payments under the migrant deal.
While Rwanda has repeatedly denied supporting M23, it maintains that it has taken defensive measures to counter the threat posed by the FDLR, a genocidal militia operating near its borders. However, UN experts previously reported that between 3,000 and 4,000 Rwandan troops were stationed in eastern DRC in support of M23, while analysts now estimate that the number has exceeded 10,000.
The UK’s migrant deal with Rwanda, first introduced in 2022 by the previous Conservative government, led to £240 million being paid to Rwanda before it was officially canceled by the newly elected administration of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
Rwanda has accused Starmer’s government of unlawfully terminating the agreement, despite the Labour Party’s clear stance against the policy before the UK general elections. After winning the elections in July 2024, Starmer declared that the Rwanda migrant scheme was “dead and buried”, calling it a wasteful policy that would have impacted less than 1% of migrants arriving in the UK by small boats.
A UK government spokesperson later reiterated that the Home Secretary had clarified the decision to scrap the deal, arguing that the agreement was an expensive misuse of taxpayer money and should not continue.
During the implementation of the agreement, part of the UK funds were used to construct housing units in Gahanga, Kicukiro district in Kigali, intended to accommodate asylum seekers transferred from the UK. However, with the collapse of the deal and ongoing diplomatic tensions, the fate of the UK-funded migrant housing project remains uncertain.
Therwandan
