ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the capacity of refugees to affect inter-state relations. It shows that the influx of refugees into Kenya and Tanzania adversely affected the two states relations with their neighbours, as reflected in diplomatic rows, cross-border attacks and even war. The chapter explores the refugee threat to host-state security by examining how the cross-border movements and activities of refugees/exiles impact on the host states' inter-state relations. The Tanzanian government's sympathy with the Burundian Hutu cause led to a situation where it both supported and permitted the Hutu refugee warriors to conduct military activities against the minority Tutsi-controlled government. This was in contrast to the Rwandese refugee situation, where it showed its willingness to address the Rwandan government's concerns about the subversive activities of Hutu refugees. The low level of refugee militarisation in Kenya was perhaps because the Sudanese People's Liberation Army (SPLA) had large territories under its control from which it could launch attack.
