Kigali has requested compensation after the cancelation of an asylum agreement, arguing that Britain has broken mutual trust
Rwanda has requested £50 million ($63.5 million) in compensation from the UK after the British government canceled an asylum agreement, a source familiar with the negotiations told Reuters on Tuesday.
The asylum deal was originally announced in April 2022 under British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government, and involved a five-year agreement for illegal immigrants to be sent to Rwanda from the UK.
However, no flights have taken place since the first one was canceled in June 2022 following intervention from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The scheme was also declared unlawful by the UK’s highest court, which deemed Rwanda unsafe for deportees.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government scrapped the scheme upon taking office in July 2024, with Home Secretary Yvette Cooper stating it had cost taxpayers £700 million. Starmer declared the plan “dead and buried,” asserting that it had “never served as a deterrent” to illegal immigration and would ultimately deport “less than 1%” of those arriving on small boats.
In a post on X on Monday, Rwandan government spokesperson Yolande Makolo argued that Britain’s actions had undermined trust. “The UK had asked Rwanda to quietly forego the payment based on the trust and good faith existing between our two nations,” she wrote.
“However, the UK has breached this trust through the unjustified punitive measures to coerce Rwanda into compromising our national security,” Makolo added.
The UK recently paused aid to Rwanda, citing concerns over the African nation’s alleged support for the M23 rebel group in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The UK is among several Western nations that have accused Kigali of backing the group, a claim Rwanda denies.
According to the National Audit Office (NAO), Britain’s spending watchdog, the asylum deal required the UK to make payments of £50 million to Rwanda in both April this year and next. As of February 2024, the UK had already paid £220 million to the African country.
